Grace Under Pressure
by LadyJade4d
Summary: This story takes place after book 15. Stephanie Plum accepts a full-time position at RangeMan. Her life is turned upside down with the sudden death of one of her best friends who appoints her as guardian of her 5 year old daughter, Krista. Stephanie must navigate single parenthood, a threat to a lucrative RangeMan account, and her complicated love life. Eventual Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

SP POV:

Oh great, Monday morning and I'm running late for work. A month ago I finally accepted a full-time position at Rangeman, a security company owned by Ranger Manoso, my friend, mentor, and occasional lover. After helping Ranger identify and capture the punk kids targeting and robbing his clients, Ranger offered me a full time position at RangeMan doing paperwork (finally my business degree was coming in handy), doing research and handling clients, apparently heavily armed, larger than life ex-military and ex-gang members with an aversion to smiling and often small talk didn't inspire confidence in potential clients so much as terrify them. Who knew?!

After careful consideration (especially given the required exercise and weapons training), I accepted. The truth was that the excitement and freedom that came with working as a bounty hunter for my decrepit cousin, I was tired of the constantly ruined wardrobe, the crazy stalkers and the constant gossip. The fact that my 30th birthday was only months away and I had yet to manage any financial security also helped me decide to accept Ranger's offer. After having a few candid conversations with Lula and Mary Lou, I realized it was time to take charge of my life and get myself out of the rut I'd been somehow content with over the past couple of years.

Plus, the RangeMan offer was generous, included benefits (insurance, a company vehicle and an apartment which I opted out of for privacy reasons), variety and allowed me to solve puzzles, which was the most appealing aspect of working for Vinnie. All in all, it had been a dream job, especially after my body got used to the exercise and healthy diet. I mean, the old Stephanie is still there and can enjoy the hell out of dessert, but overall, I've never felt better physically which definitely improved my attitude and self-confidence.

Aside from helping with research, the new job has been completely unlike my two-year tenure as a bounty hunter for my duck obsessed cousin Vinnie. I haven't rolled around in garbage or had a vehicle blown up in weeks! A definite milestone for me and perk of being a fulltime RangeWoman. I also talked Ranger into allowing some color into my wardrobe, because the black on black on black look isn't quite friendly enough for potential customers. So I get to rock a business/business casual look in lieu of the urban swat Barbie outfit. Today, my business casual look consisted of a lilac silk button down shirt, black Express stovepipe slacks and 4inch black stilettos. I no longer feel guilty for buying heels because I actually use them on a daily basis. Of course, with the 5 hours a week of gym time, self defense training (scheduled for 7:30 AM Tuesday and Thursday with a different Merry Man depending on their schedules) and the ever dreaded hour of required firearms training per week, I've also had to invest in more sports bras and yoga pants, but since it's helped me go down two sizes and increase my flexibility and ability to defend myself, it's well worth it. I hate to admit it, but I kinda wish I'd accepted Ranger's offer to train me years ago.

Also, Ranger had offered me my own office with ice blue walls, an espresso desk with a magical ergonomic chair for me and two pale blue damask covered guest chairs. Off to the side of the office there was a huge window coupled with a window seat that was perfect for reading over contracts or just taking a break. Ranger also tried to give me a company car, a M3 BMW convertible in black, naturally.

Overall my arrangement for fulltime employment at RangeMan worked out wonderfully. The guys were no longer drowning in paperwork (and I've managed to streamline the process for reports they're required to fill out) and I no longer rolled around in garbage or had the TPD betting on me.

The other people in my life had been moving forward as well. Lula had been taking community college courses since she started working at Vinnie's and was now working as a counselor and activities director at the Trenton Youth Center, which helped at risk children. Lula was thriving at her new job, which I think was because she was doing something that she really cared about. She understood the kids there and with her attitude, she could get through to even the most closed of kids and didn't take crap from anyone.

Connie is still working at Vinnie's as a receptionist although she is now equal partners with Vinnie in the business. Turns out Harry the Hammer, Vinnie's father in law, was informed of Vinnie's poor work ethic and misuse of company time and demanded that he resume his previous position as a BEA part-time. So, essentially, Vinnie and Joyce have taken over all the skips that I used to cover while Vinnie and Connie officially manage the office. Connie's thrilled with her new position and the increase in pay, which given that she had to put up with Vinnie and Joyce was more than well deserved and long overdue.

Even though I no longer worked at the bonds office, I still made time to hang out with Connie and Lula a few times a week. We tried for a weekly girls night and every Monday morning we met at Star Diner for breakfast and gossip. The perfect way to start the work-week. Breakfast with them was also the reason why I was running late today. We got caught up in discussing the fire that took place in one of the slums on Stark last night. Apparently it was due to faulty wiring but it would take an official report from the fire department for any charges to by raised against Capello Housing, which owned several apartment buildings in Trenton, including several slums. The Capello family also owned several other businesses in New Jersey and were a very powerful family which more than likely meant they would get away with housing Trenton's destitute in sub-standard conditions.

My love life had also changed since I started at RangeMan a month ago. Joe Morelli, my on-off boyfriend for the past two-ish years and I have officially been off for a month. Before accepting the fulltime position at RangeMan, we had a conversation (without yelling.. well with minimal yelling) about what we both wanted from our relationship and in our careers. I explained that I wasn't sure that I could make the sacrifices he seemed to require from me (safe/boring job, future including marriage and children and some level of domestic prowess) and while I understood his reservations regarding my safety, I wasn't willing to work in a job where I would be bored to the point of wanting someone to explode yet another vehicle just to break up the monotony. He finally admitted that having a family was a definite part of his future and while he was adamant that I would be happy fitting into that role, he wasn't willing to sacrifice that if I never changed my mind on the while wedding/kids front. Also, there was the fact that he was unwilling to accept my friendship with Ranger, which was completely understandable. If our roles had been reversed, I wouldn't have understood either, especially given my inability to maintain physical boundaries with Ranger. Joe and I both deserved better than what we were willing to give each other.

Since we've broken up, we've managed to function as amiable colleagues, for the most part, and after explaining things with Joe to my mother, she's managed to keep her condescending comments and meddling to herself. Don't get me wrong, she still manages the subtle dig every once and a while but she's changed her attitude to semi-supportive because since working fulltime at RangeMan, I haven't lost a car, been seriously injured (which I suppose is why Ranger had been pushing me to get trained and in shape for so long… I just hate it when he's right – he's too damn smug for his own good) or provided any grist for the burg gossip mill.

Also, since our breakup, Joe has taken to dating casually, which has soured my Mother to Joe being my last hope for marriage, children and attaining the burg ideal. Honestly, Joe dating was more of a shock than I thought it would be. Not because I wanted to be with Joe, aside from missing the comfort of his friendship and his skill in bed, I didn't really miss him. It was more the fact that our relationship was borne out of a mutual need to orgasm without complications or pretense. There were no dates (Pino's and takeout don't count), no dressing up for dinner and dancing, no flowers or wooing of any sort. Our relationship was sex and yelling and watching sports while eating pizza in our sweatpants. I'm not a Nicholas Sparks type of love story kind of girl but honestly, what Joe and I had was kinda depressing. We were too busy, lazy or uninterested to make an effort for each other and well, he wasn't when it came to the handful of women he'd been seeing since. From what I'd been told, these new women were treated to fancy dinners and flowers and after the initial hit to my self esteem, I figured it was for the best. Neither one of us should settle and at least we got out before we got in too deep. Of course that didn't stop him from hitting on me every now and then, old habits and all that.

As for the other man in my life, well, things were always a bit complicated with Ranger. After helping him find the punk kids who had been ripping off his clients, Ranger spent one week checking in with his other offices to ensure nothing like this could happen again during which things between us were business as usual with the flirting, stolen kisses and occasional groping. After that, our flirting escalated to several adult sleepovers and tons of time spent in his apartment on seven over two weeks. Then, a week ago he stops by my apartment (or breaks in, if we're being completely accurate) at 4AM on a Friday morning after my weekly girls night with Connie, Lula and Mary Lou to tell me that he was 'going in the wind' again and would be incommunicado again. Then he gave me a mind-melting kiss and was gone.

I just barely managed to go through the motions for the next couple of days during which I went through every emotion from fear and panic to anger to frustration before finally settling on serene. I finally got it, Ranger's life did not lend itself to relationships, and a condom would definitely come in handy. While we had spent the past two weeks being intimate, more physically than emotionally, it wasn't a relationship. The most he could offer emotionally was what we had in our friendship and while the physical aspect was definitely satisfying, it wasn't enough for me for the two to be separate and distinct. While I wanted to maintain the friendship that I had with Ranger, I needed the put up physical boundaries to keep myself from mistaking the friendship for more than it was. Hopefully, Ranger would understand and wouldn't fire me. Gosh I hope he doesn't fire me, I'd miss the Merry Men and my job and my snazzy company car way too much.

I used my key fob to beep open the RangeMan underground parking garage gate and pulled into my spot. I hurried through the maze of shiny, black vehicles and ran up stairs to the fifth floor, the sound of my 4-inch stilettoes echoing through the stairwell. I unceremoniously dumped my laptop and purse on my desk then hurried to the fifth floor conference room, 5 minutes late for the daily 9AM meeting. My attempt at surreptitiously joining the meeting was foiled by Tank Sherman.

"Nice of you to join us, Bombshell. We were just about to go over new client installs for this week" Tank announced. Tank was 6 foot 6 of milk chocolate muscles, Ranger's second in command and currently acting head of RangeMan while Ranger was in the wind toppling a dictatorship or staging a coupe.

"Sorry for running late Tank. This week we have two residential installations scheduled along with installations for Marchesi's Jewelers. Also, I have a meeting with a few potential residential clients and Sognare clothing boutique Tuesday, so hopefully we'll have some new clients by the end of the week." I informed the group.

"Beautiful, Ranger's been after Sognare for years. All they do is window shop, but good luck!" Lester commented. Lester was latte colored, 6 foot 4 inches with a dirty blonde faux-hawk and mischievous emerald eyes.

"Sounds good little girl. Now, what skips do we have this week?" Tank queried Lester Santos, the head of the BEA part of RangeMan Trenton

"We've got a few skips from Vinnie's that we have a few weeks to capture, no criminal masterminds though. And we've got a lead on Samuel Carter for tonight, so we'll be planning a distraction for tonight, if you're up for it Beautiful."

"No problem" I answered.

"Great, the takedown team will meet at 6PM to go over the plan." Lester informed me.

"Sounds good, who is Carver? He's not one of Vinnie's is he?" Tank added.

"Naw, he's on the FBI's list, a white collar criminal" Lester replied.

"Ok. Now let's go over account reports and alarms from this past week." Tank continued.

Forty-five minutes later, everyone was caught up on what needed to be done during the upcoming week. For me that meant two new client meetings, my bottomless pit of search requests, paperwork and a distraction set for tonight.

After two hours of juggling searches and paperwork, I grabbed a bottle of water, sandwich and apple from the break room and went through the run searches with a highlighter to point out things to help the guys find their FTA's, concerns regarding new potential customers and background checks for other customers both private and government. As a naturally curious person, I really loved going through information from the searches and seeing what other people have been hiding, especially since people in Trenton are so very fond of unabashedly and publically criticizing my every choice and action.

Before I knew it, it was 6PM and Lester was prepping the team for the distraction take down. "So we are after Samuel Carter, 36 years old, 6 feet 2 inches. He's a fugitive from the FBI white collar division. He's been frequenting O'Malley's, a dive bar during weekday evenings. Woody, Ram and I will be inside as patrons, Cal will be filling in as the bouncer, Hal will be the bartender and Bobby and Tank will be waiting outside. Questions?"

The guys looked at me to see if I had any spidey-sense related concerns. Everything looked fairly straight forward. He seemed like an over grown frat boy who was too entitled or deluded to know when lay low. From his dating history we knew he liked tall, busty, Caucasian women and from his pay-per-view bills we knew he had a thing for catholic school girls and spanking. Hopefully the spanking information wouldn't really come into play, but with my history, you could never really be too well prepared. "I'm good guys, really. The only thing is that I think we should try to get him out before he's had more than three or four drinks because that seems to be when he goes from cheesy but thinks he's charming to belligerent", I stated giving the guys what I hoped was a reassuring look.

"According to the bartender, he generally gets there between 2100 and 2200 and either watches whatever game is going on or plays pool while drinking beer. I think you should get there by 10 to be on the safe side." Lester explained.

"Okay, Bobby and I will be by your place to pick you up at 2130, ok" Tank asked.

"Soo… 9:30? Sounds good big guy. See you guys tonight." I replied and headed to the gym for my mandatory workout. I didn't mind it but there was no way I was waking up early for that. I changed in the only women's bathroom (on the first floor where we held client meetings) and headed to the third floor to get my sweat on. Before my anti-Ranger in my personal space epiphany I had just used his apartment on seven whenever I needed a bathroom, shower, place to store some clothes or escape for a quick break. Now I keep a couple of changes of clothing in my cubicle, use one of the empty apartment showers on four and discreetly had Hector swap out my all-access key fob for one that lets me into the same areas as regular RangeMen employees.

Sharing a gym with tons of crazy hot guys has its ups and downs. On one hand, they are attractive, sweaty (in the best way) and generally only half dressed. On the down side, they are hella intimidating and see me while sweaty, panting and disgusting which is a level of intimacy I was hoping to avoid with all males. After stretching, running 4 miles, some basic weights and exercises and yoga too cool down I grabbed my purse, Carter's file and some of what Ella had left out for dinner and headed home.

I listened to messages while I ate and moaned my way through the stew that Ella had prepared. That woman was incredible. She's the only person that could make healthy actually taste like you weren't being deprived of essential fats, sugars and carbs.

"Steph, it's Connie. I talked to Lula and Mary Lou and we're planning on meeting at Lucia's, the new Mexican place downtown for girls night Thursday. We have a reservation for 8. Oh and dress for dancing because they have live music in the evenings!"

Oooh dancing, that counts as cardio, right? Hmm.

"Stephanie, it's your grandma. I just wanted you to know that my date with the new guy I met at Bingo went really well and he'll be taking me to the viewing tomorrow night so you're off the hook! Also, maybe we could go shopping for some of that fancy underwear this weekend?"

Oh good god. There is no way that is happening. I cannot shop for boudoir clothing with my grandma. Maybe I could just buy her a gift certificate and have her go with one of her friends from Clip 'n Curl.

"Hey Steph - It's Veronica! I was calling to check in. How are things going with your family, work and did you get a chance to tell your hunky boss that you no longer want to ride his magic stick? Anyways I'm slipping into those ridiculous purple shoes you made me buy the last time you visited and I thought I'd say hi!"

Man, I haven't talked to Veronica in a week, since I decided that I needed to stop banging the boss man. Veronica Smith (V), Mary Lou (Mare), Rebecca Jacobs (Becks) and I were inseparable in college and did everything together. Unfortunately, we haven't had much time to get together over the past few years aside from the major life events: my over the top, burg circus wedding, Mary Lou and Veronica's infinitely more successful weddings, baby showers, christening and a few birthdays. V's daughter, Krista (Kris) was my goddaughter and I absolutely adored her. I think it's also because her parents are so active and attentive, but she has a really remarkable personality, especially for a 5 year old. She's bubbly and a bit brazen, just like her V but I'm pretty sure her father's sense of analytical thinking is going to come out over the next few years. Anyways, one of the downsides to growing up is that you get too busy and wrapped up in the day-to-day to find time to keep in touch with the people who are truly important. I mean, I've spent more time with random skips and asshole city employees who bet on me than some of my best friends, people who despite the distance and the things going on in their lives have always been there for me.

I called V back while I laid my distraction outfit together on my bed. "V! How the hell are you doing?"

"Hey Steph! Dom and I are headed out for an impromptu date night! Dinner, a movie and well, you know, dirty stuff. What's going on?"

"Hey V! I hope you and Dominic have fun – don't do anything I wouldn't do! How's Kris doing? Still on track to be a prima ballerina?" I asked.

"Yeah, your goddaughter is doing wonderfully and is at a slumber party for a friend's birthday. She's been asking if you were going to visit sometime soon."

"A slumber party on a Monday?"

"Yeah well, it's still summer vacation for another few weeks. So, quit stalling, what's up with the hunky boss man?" Veronica questioned. I could hear her husband Dominic laughing in the background.

"He's still out of town. But I'll let you know when I get a chance to talk to him. Hopefully he won't fire me, although if he does, I'd love to come visit you guys for a few days!"

"Look at you, finding the silver lining! Same old Steph! Well, aside from the turning away a guy you're crazy about, I still don't get what that's about – but I totally support your crazy ass. So what are you up to tonight?"

"Oh you know me, picking up guys, the usual…"

"What?! You're picking up guys? Plural?" Veronica exclaimed. And in the background I heard Dominic laughing incredulously.

"It's for work, it's more getting a creep back in the system." I amended, giggling.

"You know what they say about all work and no play?! Be safe and I'll talk to you later Steph."

"Take care! Miss you guys!" I responded and hung up.

I hopped in the shower, exfoliated, shampooed and shaved in record time. I hopped out, liberally applied lotion, blow dried and straightened my hair and opted for a natural makeup look with smoky eyes. I pulled on white lace boy short panties and a matching white lacy wonder bra that definitely lived up to the name. I pulled on a pleated gray wool skirt that hit mid thigh, a fitted white collared shirt that was unbuttoned to show just a hint of cleavage and lace from the bra. I added a cross necklace I borrowed from my sister Valerie that further accentuated my cleavage, some modest princess cut diamond studs that I bought with my first paycheck as a full time RangeMan, and 4in black patent leather mary jane pumps. I decided against the whole knee high socks so as to hint at the catholic school girl fantasy without being obvious enough to arouse suspicion. I topped off my look with a thin red headband in my now straight hair that reached mid-back and switched the essentials, panic button, cell phone, some cash to my red satin clutch. I also hid a couple of bobby pins in my hair, incase I needed to pick a lock. After a few hours training with Hector, I managed to learn to pick handcuffs and basic locks with a bobby pin and a few basic Spanish phrases. I just finished readjusting my headband when my phone rang.

"Hey" I answered.

"Yo, it's Tank. We're just pulling up. You ready?"

"Yeah, headed down now." I hung up, spritzed on some VS very sexy for luck and took the elevator down. I walked out and hopped into the waiting black SUV. "Hey guys!"

"H-h-hey Bomber. You look umm well are you ready?" Tank responded. I hate admitting it, but the fact that the distraction outfits had an impact on the Merry Men was flattering. I mean, it would be flattering regardless, but given how attractive they were, well, it's just the boost I needed before trying to pick up a creep.

"Almost, I just need my wire and earbud. You know what they say, accessories make the outfit." I replied cheekily.

"Here you go." Bobby stated, handing back a case. "Also, Hector finished up that mini tazer you requested. It only has enough charge for two zaps, so make sure you charge it each time you use it." Bobby said as he handed back another case. I opened it to reveal a charger and what looked like a matte silver tube of lipstick with a button on the base with the picture of a cartoon bomb complete with lit fuze and label stating that the lipstick 'color' was called Bombshell.

"Wow, this is amazing! Hector has really outdone himself!" I exclaimed while attaching my wire to the inside of my bra and putting the earbud in place.

"Yeah, he said he's thinking of coming up with a Bombshell line of self defense products for women." Bobby added with a chuckle.

"That's brilliant! Incognito mini tazers, knives hidden in stilettoes and lock pick sewn into clothing. The possibilities are endless!" I added as we pulled into the O'Malley's parking lot.

"True, the possibilities are endless," Tank stated turning around and looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Just imagine trackers and panic buttons hidden in jewelry. Brilliant."

"Crap, that's too sneaky guys." I added. Dammit, why am I giving them ideas to keep tabs on me. Gotta think before you speak Steph.

"Hmm, we should definitely bring that up to Hector… and Ranger." Bobby added, chuckling. Super, the muscle bound Merry Men at their finest.

"Alright Bomber, turn on the mic and let's get this show on the road." I turned it on and Tank started the mic check. "Alright guys, mic check". After all the guys and I had checked in, I headed toward O'Malley's.

"Damn Bombshell, looking good" Cal said, grinning, as he let me into O'Malleys. I stepped inside, looked around for the rest of the Merry Men while acclimating myself to the lighting and smoke filled interior.

I heard a whistle over the earbud and then Woody's voice "So Wifey, this is definitely going to be added to my school girl fantasy. And I love the hair."

"Glad to know skipping the argyle knee-high socks didn't detract from the effect." I replied dryly as I walked over to Hal at the bar.

"Cut the chatter" Tank boomed. You'd think the guys would know better by now.

"The skip's at the pool table, and you definitely have his attention" Ram added. "He's almost done with his game, about 10 more minutes if Lester's half as good as he thinks he is." I glanced to the side and saw Lester and Carter checking me out as they played their game.

I bent at the waist and leaned my forearms against the bar "Could I get a rum and coke please?" I asked a blushing Hal who was trying desperately to maintain eye contact.

"Shit, you just know she likes to be spanked." Lester drawled out, in an obvious attempt to bait Carter.

I paid Hal when he handed me a coke and coke, and I sipped it while sitting on one of the barstools with my back against the bar so I could casually glance around. I fiddled with the cross necklace and sipped my drink. I pretended to check a text message, caught Carter staring while Lester took a shot and I smiled back and walked over to him.

"Hey guys, do you have someone lined up to play the winner? I was supposed to meet a friend here, but she bailed" I asked Carter.

He looked me up and down and then smiled, as if it was supposed to be flattering or something. Creep. "Nope, you interested?"

I fiddled with the necklace and dropped it against my chest. "Mhmm. I'm not really sure how to play though."

From his expression it looked like he thought it was Christmas morning and I was waiting to be unwrapped. "No problem, I'm sure I could give you some pointers. I'm Sam." He said, holding out his hand.

"Patience, it's nice to meet you" I went to shake his hand but instead he raised it to his mouth and kissed it. _Don't cringe, don't cringe, don't cringe. _This is definitely the worst part of distraction jobs. I don't really mind the dressing up and being someone else for a few hours. It's not quite as much fun as dressing up for Halloween because then I get to be someone I aspire to be (Wonder Woman, Lara Croft, the Black Widow, etc. as opposed to slutty barbie) but it's still fun and keeps my lying skills up to par.

"And this is my friend Javier" Carter said, nodding his head toward Lester. Hmm, I guess we're all playing parts tonight. I held my hand out towards him and he thankfully just shook it and gave me his patented 'I'm so handsome I make women stupid' smile. Luckily for me I've built up some immunity.

"Aw shit," Lester said, pulling out his phone, "I have to take this, maybe we can play some other time." Lester said and took off towards the bar.

Carter went over the basic rules while setting the game up and motioned for me to go first. I was about to take my shot but stopped. "So, what are we playing for?"

"Hmm, if you win, I'll buy you dinner," he stated, and smiled mischievously, "and if I win, I'll give you a ride home" He finished cockily.

After pretending to think about it, I nodded. "Am I doing this right?" I asked as I lined up my shot and Carter stared down my shirt.

"Umm Beautiful, I don't think he heard you" Lester said after a few moments.

"Sam,"

"Hmm, yeah, what's up?" Carter said as he snapped back to attention.

"Am I holding this right?"

"Let me see," he walked around the pool table and pretended to adjust my stance while copping a feel. "You're all set, let's see what you got."

I really love taking arrogant assholes down a peg or two. It's a purely altruistic endeavor, restoring balance to the world or something. And that is exactly what I planned to do. Unfortunately, it also meant that I wouldn't be able to use the fact that Veronica and I used to hustle at pool when we were in college to make some quick cash off the Merry Men, but it's for the greater good so I'm willing to make the sacrifice.

At the end of my first turn I was halfway to beating Carter and had clearly impressed Lester, Cal, Woody and Ram per their comments. "Well damn, Patience, looks like you really want that dinner, huh?" Carter responded as he took his turn.

"Yeah well, a girls gotta eat." I stated saucily. Carter made his first shot and lined up his second. "Although, I'm pretty sure either way, neither of us would really be losing." I stated, distracting Carter enough to make him miss his shot.

"Well, as a banker, I'm a firm believer in win-win negotiations. So, what is it that you do?"

I took my shot, while deftly lining up a second. "I teach high school English. It's great but sometimes I would much rather adult company versus a room full of teenagers all day long." I looked up at him and and hit the 8-ball into the pocket, intentionally losing the game. "Huh. Looks like you owe me a ride home Sam" I said, smiling sweetly at him.

"I suppose I do, fair is fair. Are you ready to head out or would you like another drink?" Carter replied with a wink.

"Well, I don't want to be up too late," I replied in a slightly husky voice as I started walking towards to door. I looked over my shoulder and motioned for him to follow me "It is a school night after all." That's all it took for Carter to rush up to me, sling his arm around my waist and guide me toward the door.

"Damn Bombshell, you may be better at picking up people than Lester" Woody replied.

"Hey, guys are easier than chicks!" Lester exclaimed.

"Get it together!" Tank boomed, focusing everyone's attention on the impending takedown as Carter and I exited the bar. Before I knew what was going on, Tank had shoved Carter back into Ram and Woody and they had easily handcuffed him.

"What the fuck is going on?" Carter shouted over my fake screams.

"Miss, you need to leave." Tank directed towards me with his blank face on. Honestly, even though I know they are harmless and forces of good, they are still terrifying when they want to be. I quickly scurried away to the SUV I came in, away from Carter's line of sight. "Samuel Carter, we are contracted by the FBI to apprehend and deliver you to the authorities.

The guys finished wrangling Carter into one of the SUVs and Tank and Bobby headed over to me. "Good work Bomber" Bobby said as we settled into the car. "So, I take it you know a little something about playing pool?"

"I uh used to hustle a little pool when I was in college with a friend of mine. You know, to give cocky frat boys a sense of reality"

"And make a little extra scratch, right?" Tank asked while they both chuckled.

"Payment for my public service." I replied.

"So, back to your apartment?"

"Yes please."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

SP POV

"Beautiful, that was brilliant. You realize we've been trying to get him to sign on with us for years." Lester whispered excitedly as we hurried back to car after leaving Sognare, an exclusive Italian clothing boutique. They have locations in Boston, New York, Newark and Philadelphia. So far, we have a contract to take over security for their New Jersey location only, but from the meeting, it seemed like if we continued to impress them, we could be looking at more business soon.

"Please, it was nothing. I just did what you guys told me to do. Find weaknesses and over looked areas and lock that shit up" I said shrugging. "But I am really excited that I was able to, you know, give back. It's only fair after all the cars, time and resources I've monopolized over the years."

"Seriously," Lester stopped me when we got to my M3 (better to impress the clients with) and scooped me up in a huge hug. "You found flaws that are we don't consider, offered them various options to address them and, well, you're easier to talk to than Ranger tends to be. With you, they walk into a customer meeting with a potential security company and walk away with either a new best friend or a crush".

"Thank you, but its really just one of the benefits to not wearing exclusively black clothing." I said, gesturing to my corporate attire, a grey pencil skirt that hit right above my knee, matching suit jacket and pale pink silk shell. "Seriously Les, throw on a colored shirt, perhaps in salmon, and you'd be unstoppable." I said as Lester set me down and opened the door for me. "I'd be more than happy to take you shopping or do some brainstorming with Ella".

Lester chuckled and got into the driver's seat. "Nope, my colored clothing is exclusively for the ladies and I have a strict no salmon policy. But I'd be more than happy to spend some time in a dressing room with you Beautiful". He said, winking at me.

I punched him lightly in the arm. "How about we get Ella to make us some celebratory contraband with lunch instead?"

"Definitely! Something with chocolate! But you better check with Tank first."

"Fine, although I'd rather ask for forgiveness later."

Lester pretended to glare admonishingly at me as I fished my phone out of my purse. Ignoring 3 missed calls, I dialed Tank. "Yo" Tank's booming voice answered.

"Hey, its Steph. Guess what? We got the account for the Jersey branch of Sognare!"

"Wow, congrats little girl! Knew you had it in you!"

"Thanks Tank. I'm thinking we could definitely parley this into contracts for their other locations as well. Les and I wanted to celebrate and we were thinking we'd ask Ella to maybe make some dessert and leave it in the break room if that's ok? Please? Pretty please?"

"Hmm. Okay, but don't expect this every time you land an account… or when Ranger gets back. I'll call Ella, do you have any requests?" Tank asked.

"Chocolate! Anything with chocolate. Thanks!" And he hung up, again. It's like they have an allergy to ending phone conversations in a normal way. Eh, at least I'm getting dessert. I could forgive a lot with the promise of dessert.

"He said yes!" I said for Lester's benefit.

"Awesome. I wonder what the guys are going to be more excited about, the new account or the dessert. And all before 1000." Lester said, chuckling as he entered his driving zone. Initially, I didn't quite understand what the guys did while in their 'zone', but after my training, I realized they were just doing so much that they didn't have any brain space left to talk or listen to music. They were checking for tails, monitoring other vehicles, traffic, potential danger. It was exhausting, and a bit paranoid.

We drove back to the RangeMan building on Haywood in amiable silence. Both of us lost in our thoughts, Lester looking out for the boogie man and I was trying to decide what to wear to dinner and dancing with the girls tonight and if I should subtly let Tank know and help him and Lula stop dancing around each other. Since Lula started making changes in her career over the past few months it's become blatantly obvious that Tank was impressed and smitten with Lula. His attraction had expanded beyond the physical since he'd begun volunteering at the Youth Center Lula worked at. Maybe I should just mention it to Lester and he could let it slip to Tank. Yeah, that could work. Watch out world, here comes Stephanie Plum, busybody extraordinaire. At least my intentions were honorable.

My phone ringing snapped me out of my musings before I designed imaginary business cards. "Hey" I responded tentatively, I didn't recognizing the caller ID.

"Hello, Ms. Plum?" answered a bubbly woman's voice.

"Call me Stephanie please. Who is this?"

"Stephanie, I'm Jessica at the office of Robert Lawrence. Could you hold while I transfer you?"

"Umm Jessica, I don't understand why you're calling? Could you-" I responded. I could see Lester glance at me, trying to figure out if something was wrong.

"Sorry, Mr. Lawrence is an attorney in Boston. He'll be able to explain things to you." Jessica answered.

"Oh, he works with my friend Dominic Diaz right? Okay, transfer me please" I replied while grabbing a pen and the legal pad I used to take notes on during the meeting. What the hell was going on?

After a few rings, a man with a weary yet modulated voice answered, "Hello, Ms. Plum, this is Robert Lawrence, we've met a few times, do you have a few minutes to speak?"

"Yes Mr. Lawrence, please call me Stephanie. I'm not sure I understand what is this in regards to?"

"Call me Robert. I was wondering if you had received any information regarding either Dominic or Veronica recently?"

What the fuck was going on? Why wouldn't she have mentioned they were in trouble when we talked last night? "Are they in some kind of trouble? I talked to them just last night, around 8PM." I rambled frantically. Clearly Lester was picking up on my panic as he pulled into the nearest parking lot.

"Stephanie, Ms. Plum, I need you to calm down. I'm really sorry to have to do this, especially over the phone. Shit." I reached out gripped Lester's arm, and tried to control my breathing so I could focus on the terrible news I was about to be given. "Last night at around 11:30 Dominic and Veronica were involved in a car accident."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to everyone who read the first 2 chapters and to everyone who took the time to review. I appreciate all of your feedback. I also wanted to confirm that this is going to be a Babe, but it will most likely be a slow build on the romance front (Joe probably won't feature prominently).

SP POV

I tried to respond but my voice just wouldn't work and after a beat Robert continued. "They were hit by a drunk driver and sustained severe injuries. Dominic died instantly and Veronica passed early this morning while she was in surgery. I'm so very sorry, I know how close you were and how important they must be to you."

Finally, with a shaky voice I managed to croak out "What? How? They can't be, just no". Lester handed me a tissue from my purse and was rubbing me on the back in an effort to get me to stop crying. I hadn't even realized that I was crying.

"I am sorry to have to tell you this Stephanie. Also-"

"Wh-what about Krista? She was at a slumber party? Does she know? Shit, she's just a baby" I interrupted frantically. I can't believe V and Dominic were gone. They were such incredible parents, supportive, loving, generous and everything I aspired to be if the time ever came.

"Yes, about Krista. Had Dominic or Veronica ever discussed what they wanted in this type of situation?" What the hell was wrong with this morbid fuck. His calm, pained voice wasn't actually helping because yelling at him wouldn't be satisfying at all.

"N-n-no, we never talked about it." I finally managed to say.

"Oh, I had hoped they'd talked to you. Stephanie, I'm going to need you to come in as soon as possible so we can go over paperwork, and their will and I have a letter that Veronica left for you. But for now, you should know that, well, Dominic and Veronica named you as Krista's guardian in the event that both of them should pass." Robert finally managed to explain.

Oh my freaking god. I can barely take care of a hamster. What was V thinking? What if I screwed this up? I love that munchkin, even though I don't get to see her as often as I'd like. You couldn't help but love her, but me as a guardian. I was a pale substitute for V at my best. Surely someone else was better suited. "What? Are you sure? And where is she right now?" I exclaimed.

"Stephanie, I'm sorry to have to share this with you over the phone. Krista is safe and she's staying at the Diaz residence with your friend Rebecca. Dominic's brother Alejandro and his wife have also been by to check up on Krista. However, I do need to discuss their will and assets and handle paperwork regarding Krista with you as soon as possible."

"Ok. I, uh, I can probably be there by 5 or 6 PM. Will you be able to see me then? Or is that too late?"

"I have a meeting at 5:00 that I can't get out of, but I can stop by Dominic's place at around 6:30 tonight if that's alright?"

"Are you sure? I mean, I would like to get to Krista as soon as possible, but I don't want to mess up your schedule too much."

"No please, I think it would be easier to talk there. I've worked with Dominic for the past 5 years. He and Veronica were both very close friends of mine. Rebecca has my numbers, let her know when you'll be there, and I'll see you later on tonight. Again, I'm so very sorry Stephanie." Robert sighed and hung up.

I stumbled out of the car into a drug store parking lot and threw up the coffee and bagel I'd consumed that morning. Lester followed me out of the car and handed me a bottle of water and more tissues and resumed rubbing my back. After regaining some semblance of self-composure, gargling and cleaning up (thankfully I managed to not throw up on myself), I sat back down in the M3 and asked Lester to take us to Haywood. He simply nodded, didn't ask any questions and started driving. I still hadn't stopped crying, not that I was trying, I was just glad I managed to hold off the hysterical bawling for the time being. I'd save that for when I was alone.

After a few deep breaths, I played the messages on my phone. I had a message at 6 AM from Robert asking me to call him back and that it was urgent. Understatement much? The second message was from Becks a little before 7 AM telling me what happened and that she was staying at V's with Kris and to call through tears. Becks was a relentless 5'7" waif with pixie cut blond hair, grey eyes and dimples. The final message was from Mary Lou asking me to call her so that we could drive up to Boston together. Mary Lou and I had been best friends since we were in diapers. Charming, I know. She was a couple of inches shorter than me with hazel eyes and a shock of light brown hair styled in the ever popular the mom bob style.

I took a deep breath, mustered all the strength I could manage and called Mary Lou. "Hey Mare, it's Steph. I just heard." I whispered through my silent tears.

"Oh god, how the hell did this happen? I just can't believe it. And what about little Krista? Fuck!" Mary Lou exclaimed. I guess I was the only one who knew about the guardianship so far.

"Mare, I know, this is, shit, I don't even know. I was going to head out today, as soon as possible. What about you?" I ignored Lester's questioning gaze.

"I'd like to go now with you. The boys are at a summer camp until next weekend and Lenny's swamped with work so he'll just come in for the funeral on Saturday morning. I talked to Becks and apparently they'd already worked out all of the f-f-funeral arrangements and CPS left Kris with Becks for now after talking to V and Dom's lawyer. Wh-when will you be ready to leave? I'm already packed." Mary Lou rambled out.

"Mare, I just found out, I'm… it just doesn't seem real, I don't think it ever will. I mean I just talked to V, last night. I need to check in at work and pack, but I was thinking we'd leave by noon at the latest. Will that work for you?" I replied.

"Mhmm, give me a call when you're ready to be picked up. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll give you a call as soon as I get things figured out. Will you call Becks, let her know we'll be there tonight?"

"Sure Steph, I'll see you soon."

"Bye Mare" I replied and hung up and realized that we'd been parked in the RangeMan garage for the past few minutes and a very concerned Lester was staring at me. "I need to talk to you, Tank and Bobby. Can you have them meet in 15?"

"Okaaay, Beautiful. Are you sure you don't want to talk about anything first?" I shook my head and headed into the elevator, keeping my head down, focused on the black elevator tiled floor after hitting the button for the first floor. "Meet us in Tank's office, and if you change your mind, just give me a call." He gave me a quick hug and I stepped out of the elevator and headed into the women's bathroom.

After stemming the unending tears, I rinsed my face, gave myself a quick pep talk and headed up to Tank's office on the fifth floor. I knocked and waited to until I heard Tank's gruff "Enter" to walk in. Tank was seated behind his desk and Bobby and Lester were in the chairs facing his desk. All three had donned their blank faces and were waiting for me to explain what was going on. I stood at the edge of Tank's desk so I could see all of the guys.

"I just found out that a friend of mine passed away early this morning." and I was crying again. Luckily I was no longer wearing any make up. I took a deep breath, wiped away the tears and kept going. The faster I could get this out the faster I could get to Boston. I held up a hand to stop the guys from commenting and continued. "I need to head out to Boston to help with the service and get some other things in order. I'm probably going to be out for at least a week but I can take my laptop and run searches and do paperwork during my downtime, although I'm not really sure how much that I'll be able to do, I mean, without being here and I guess I could type up the notes I make or I could fax things-"

"Bombshell, Stephanie. Take a breath. Take all the time you need, just let us know what your schedule looks like by Sunday morning so we can update the schedule as needed. You definitely don't need to take work with you and I can have the Boston RangeMan office set you up with a hotel, car, whatever else you need." Tank stated.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. Mary Lou will pick me up as soon as possible and we're uh staying with a f-friend. And thank you for being so understanding. You've no idea how much it means."

"Just send out an email to the three of us letting us know the status of the searches and paperwork you're currently working on, which client meetings need to be rescheduled and you can head out." Bobby replied. I nodded in reply and headed out before they could attempt to console me in any way. I wouldn't be able to stop the hysterical crying if that happened. I quickly finished up with last minute things at work, put a post-it on my office door stating that I'd be out of the office for a few days and drove home on autopilot. When I finally got to my apartment parking lot, I couldn't stop the tears any more. After a few minutes of hysterical crying I realized it wasn't going to stop and I managed to stumble into my apartment toss my suit onto the bed and continued sobbing while taking a scalding shower.

Once the water cooled and the body-wracking crying stopped, I sent Mary Lou a text message to pick me up in 30 minutes and tossed clothing, shoes, toiletries and make-up into a suitcase. I made a quick call to my Mom to tell her Veronica passed and I was going to be out of town for a while. For once, she didn't complain or try to guilt me into anything. Thank god, because if she did, well, I'd have just hung up on her.

I locked up and waited by the door for a few minutes until Mary Lou rolled up in her minivan. Oh god, would I have to get a minivan? No, one child does not warrant a minivan, those things have like 10 seats. Phew, panic attack averted. I tossed my suitcase into the back and hopped in next to Mary Lou. We hugged and cried for a while and then Mary Lou handed me the box of doughnuts she'd placed on the dashboard. We both inhaled a couple each, neither one of us wanting to disrupt the silence.

After a few minutes I cleared my throat, "let's get going, we can't put it off any longer".

Mary Lou nodded, brushed away some tears and crumbs. "Call Becks and let her know we're on the way. Put it on speaker and maybe she can tell us what's going on."

I dialed Becks and put her on speaker. After three rings, she picked up. "Hey Steph, gimme a sec" she whispered. I could hear her moving around and closing a door. "You with Mare?" Becks said, her voice laced with grief.

"Ya, you're on speaker with both of us. We're just heading out so we should be there by 5:30 or 6:00 latest. Are you with Kris?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was just sitting with her while she slept. Shit guys, I can't believe this is happening." Becks replied.

"It's doesn't seem real" Mary Lou added. "Did you call their lawyer friend and set up the meeting?"

"Mhmm, he'll stop by around 6:30 tonight. He said he needs to go over their will and talk to us about Kris. Do you guys have any idea what is going on? All he said to me was that I needed to watch over her for now and he was adamant to avoid V's family, not that I needed the warning." Becks answered.

Steeling myself for the following conversation, I decided my friends deserved to know what was going on"I talked to Robert, the lawyer. He told me about V and Dom and um what they had decided in the event that they both were to… well if something like this happened."

"Well? Spill Steph." Mary Lou added. "We need to know what the hell is going on," Becks added.

"Robert said that V and Dom decided that… that I would be awarded guardianship of Kris, I'm not sure about anything else except for that she definitely wouldn't want her parents or siblings to take Kris, it was hard enough for her to break away."

"Oh yeah, and remember all the crap they pulled when she got together with Dom. Racist, snobby pricks." Becks noted.

"And Dom's parents are too old to have the energy to raise Krista and well, Dom's brother and his wife are far to dedicated to their… lifestyle for Krista" Mary Lou added.

"It's okay Mare, you can say it, it's just us here. Dom's brother and his wife are swingers with highly demanding and time sucking jobs" I blurted out, causing the three of us to giggle nervously. Then, as if we'd all just realized we were doing something inappropriately there was silence from all three of us for a while.

"This is unbearable. I just don't know what to do with myself. I've been in a haze since I heard the news, just going through the motions." Becks finally said.

"Yeah" "Mhmm" Mary Lou and I agreed.

"Okay, I need something to do, to keep myself sane. What needs to be done?" Becks stated. She was the type-A person in our group, she functioned on to do lists and research. Now she was working in the D.A.'s office in NYC and she was relentless. "Okay, well we know V and Dom are… shit, were, dammit, they were planners which means they must have planned for Kris's financial well-being, college funds and at least enough for her to be taken care of for a few months until you can get a handle on things, Steph."

I have the greatest friends. Becks will keep me from going into denial land, which seems to be a country to which I will no longer be allowed entry. It's about time, and while I have been working towards it since my break up with Joe, being responsible for Kris changes things completely.

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense. So the first thing I need to figure out is logistics, right? Am I supposed to move to Boston?" I asked.

"Of course not, you just managed to get your life and career together." Becks replied incredulously.

"Seriously Steph?! Besides, Krista is young enough to move and from some crap I googled before we left, it's sometimes easier to make a fresh start. To honor the past but not live in it." Mary Lou interjected.

I just stared at her, silently. Shocked that they had both managed to do so much whereas I, soon to be guardian of a 6 year old, hadn't done anything at all. Shit, well no time like the present to take charge. "So I need to plan on bringing Kris to Trenton. You guys think that's the right thing to do? Is it what they would want?"

"They chose you, they knew what was going on in your life. So Mare, you have kids, what do we need to get figured out?"

"Well," Mary Lou began, "you need to find her a school and obviously you need a new apartment, larger and less… explosive."

"Oh, we also need a dance class. She breathes ballet. And the school needs to be comparable to the one she's enrolled in now. It's a pretty posh private school. Assuming I can afford it though. Shit guys." I added.

"Don't worry about that, I'm pretty sure V will have that covered. I talked to her about setting up college and education funds a while ago because Lenny and I were panicking about the boys." Mary Lou reassured me.

"I'll do the research on schools in the Trenton area. I'll make some calls and let you know which is the best blend of academic and extracurricular activities. I'll also put together some budget estimates so you can keep track of things and make sure you're staying above water and still squirrel away some savings. Okay?"

"Sounds good, I'm going to give notice on my current rat trap apartment and once we have the school picked out I can find a safer place for us to live. Is there anything else I can do during the drive?" I asked.

"Not until we talk to the lawyer and figure out the school and ballet studio for zoning and logistics for your apartment. I'll see you guys soon. Drive safe, please."

"Bye" Mary Lou said. After hanging up I called my super Dillon and told him I'd be moved out by the end of the end of August but that my Grandmother might be interested in moving in. I hadn't really needed to stay at my old apartment, especially with the money I was making at RangeMan, but I just hadn't cared enough to make the effort because of some residual stubbornness. Or perhaps it was because initially I'd been getting over Joe and focusing on training which left me far too exhausted to consider moving. After which I was lost in a Ranger induced lusty haze.

Mary Lou and I spent the rest of the drive listening to the radio and thinking. Both of us consumed by our own thoughts, struggling to make sense of our friends' deaths and the incredible daughter they were forced to leave behind. Fucking drunk drivers. How lazy and cavalier could someone be?

Before I realized it, Mary Lou and I were knocking on the door of V and Dom's Beacon Hill condo. Becks answered the door and the three of us hugged each other, holding on for all we were worth. None of us let go or moved from the doorway until a timid voice from behind Becks broke us out of our reverie. "Aunt Stephie, Aunt Mare, is that you?"

I stepped around Becks, dropped to my knees in front of Krista and wrapped her tightly in my arms. I wasn't paying attention to Mary Lou or Becks, but I was pretty sure that they brought in our bags, dropped a quick kiss on Kris's head and headed toward the kitchen to do whatever it is that adults do in these situations, probably prepare dinner or return phone calls or something else equal parts productive and responsible. After a few minutes, I heard Kris sniffle. "Aunt Stephie, where are Mommy and Daddy?" she asked in a scared, brittle voice that elicited my tears once again.

I scooped her up and passed by the kitchen where Mary Lou and Becks were fixing two cups of coffee for themselves and two cups of hot cocoa on my way to the living room. "Kris, munchkin, there's something that we need to talk to you about, okay." I gave them a head nod so they knew to follow me and is sat down in a club chair with Kris cradled in my lap. I took in the scared, teary-eyed child before me as my friends settled themselves on the sofa across next to us. She had grown a few inches since I last saw her and she now came up to mid-thigh, she had thick, straight dark brown hair, V's hazel eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion was the perfect melding of V's Scottish/German heritage and Dom's Puerto Rican roots. The only real change was that her bubbly personality was stifled. God I really wish I didn't have to have this conversation.

"Kris, I want you to know that all of we love you very much, always and forever. Okay munchkin?" I waited for her to nod before continuing. "I'm really sorry munchkin, but last night your Mommy and Daddy were in an… accident." I stalled for a second, glancing at my friends and continuing after they gave me nods of encouragement. At this point, all us had tears silently streaming down our faces. "The police and doctors worked really hard but sometimes people get hurt in ways that can't be fixed. And even though it's sad and we miss them every day, it doesn't mean they aren't with us. Your Mommy and Daddy love you very much, more than you could even imagine and so they are always with you, watching over you" I said as I grabbed her small, shaking hand and holding it over her heart while hugging her into me and she started sobbing. I looked back up at Mary Lou to see if she had any parental advice to help me fix whatever it was that I did wrong, but she just continued to nod and gave me an encouraging half smile. "Kris, munchkin, I'm so sorry. I know you miss them."

"I just want them back, please?" Krista cried. Shit, this must be the same panic feeling the Merry Men get every time I cry. "Please Aunt Stephie."

"I know sweetie, we all do." I replied with a shaky voice.

"Krista, do you want some hot chocolate or to eat something, you must be hungry." Mary Lou after a few minutes of quiet.

"I just want my Mommy and Daddy!" Krista wailed. This was heart-break. This moment was the definition of heart-break, true, unavoidable, gut wrenching heart-break. The kind you could maybe learn to live with but you never truly get over. Any hurt caused by a man in my past paled in comparison, they weren't even worth a footnote.

I looked up and Rebecca mouthed 'sleep' to me and pointed toward Kris's bedroom. I nodded and left with Kris cradled in my arms. I entered her pink ballerina themed bedroom. There was a white canopy style bed decorated with etched flowers with a matching chest, side table, desk and bookshelf. The rug, bedspread, walls and other accents were varying shades of pink. The walls were papered with pictures and artwork. I laid her down in the bed but she held on tighter when I started to move away so I kicked off my shoes and laid down with her, tucking us both in. After about 10 minutes her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. After a few more minutes I slipped out of bed and headed back down stairs.

Robert would be here in about 30 minutes and I needed to see what research Becks had done and go over the list of questions and concerns to talk to Robert about that I came up with and jotted down during the drive.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to everyone whose taken the time to read this fanfic and for all of your reviews! I really appreciate all of the feedback!

SP POV

Turns out Becks had accomplished a hell of a lot in the few short hours it took Mare and I to drive up. She researched and called three different school options. The top choice, Milano Academy, was located near the ritzy area of Trenton only a couple of miles from RangeMan. It was a private elementary school that fed into an affiliated middle, junior high and high school. It had a really impressive academic curriculum as well as several athletics and arts programs. Plus, it was definitely not Burg, which was a definite pro in my book. The tuition was pricey but it was apparently only about half of the cost of her current private school. Becks told them about Kris and once they heard about where she had been going to school, her recent report cards (I've never been more grateful for V's organizational skills) and that her guardian was an employee of RangeMan which provides security for the school, well Becks is very optimistic about Kris's admittance despite the fact that the school year would be starting in just two weeks. The second choice private school was in Newark, which would call for a 40-ish minute commute for me to get to work. Doable but since the school was less impressive I just wasn't encouraged to commit to the commute. And in third place was the private catholic school in Trenton, but none of us, V included thought that it would be a good idea limit Kris to such an oppressive form of education. Honestly I'd rather opt for public school or just move to Boston.

Additionally, Becks got the schedule for Trenton Ballet, which was in the same area as the Milano Academy. Apparently there were afterschool classes Tuesday and Thursday after school from 1:30 to 2:30 for Krista's age group.

Becks and Mary Lou also helped me organize my budget so I knew how much I could spend on rent monthly and still be responsible and build up some savings. I'd never been more grateful for my RangeMan salary. The three of us decided that my best bet would be to get an apartment in one of the buildings in the downtown Trenton area that would be within a few miles of Kris's school and RangeMan as well as a nice park. We narrowed the apartments down to those that had two bedroom, one bathroom availability within my price range, washers and dryers in the apartment (Mary Lou claimed it was a must for kids) and of course RangeMan security. After checking online, we found five potential apartments.

With ten minutes until Robert was set to arrive I composed a quick email to Tank, Bobby and Lester explaining that I was thinking about moving and asked them for their opinions of the five apartment buildings we chose. They all had RangeMan security, but that didn't mean they had the same security package, and given my history, I would need the most comprehensive security option available. I also added that I was concerned about security and potential crazies and if they had any ideas as to how to make it harder for people to simply look up where I lived. I mean if Ranger could hide the Batcave and have his official residence address be listed as an empty lot, there had to be something I could do to maintain my privacy. I also included that I needed to discuss some things and that I would call them tomorrow whenever was best for them. I had just finished sending the email when Robert arrived.

After the four of us had settled down at the dining table, the three of us on one side sitting across from Robert. "Well ladies, again, I'm so very sorry. Dominic and Veronica were both incredible individuals and I think we were all lucky to have had them in our lives." The three of us nodded in response and waited for Robert to explain what the hell was going on. "So I think it would be best if I went over the provisions laid out in their will and then we can discuss any questions or concerns you may have. First off, I'm sure you all know that they wanted Stephanie to have guardianship of Krista. I assume since you understand why they chose one of their friends rather than any of their family members?" Again all we could manage to do was nod in assent. "In that vein, Veronica wrote a letter to you, Stephanie, to explain things." He handed me an envelope and continued. "Do you have any questions so far?"

"Did they mention anything regarding how they wanted things to be handled for Krista? Like would it be okay if I moved her to Trenton? And oh they've been volunteering every Sunday morning instead of going to Church so I need to find some place for us to do that. Also Spanish, I need to learn Spanish because I know that it was really important to Dom that Krista be able to speak-" I started rambling which adding things to my list.

"Steph, breathe." Becks said, grabbing my arm and helping me to stay on point.

"From my discussions, they expected you to move Krista to wherever you were living. As for the details of how to raise Krista, they felt confident that between the letter and your knowledge of them over the past several years, you'd know what things would be important to them, like speaking Spanish in the home and whatever volunteering you talked to them about. As to her education and activities, they've made some financial arrangements to help you out. Okay?"

"Yeah, sorry about earlier, I just don't want anything to slip through the cracks."

"It's totally understandable Stephanie. Before we go over their financial assets, I'd like to go over Veronica's family. Since they found out about the accident, they've contacted my office and CPS, Child Protective Services to see if there was any way to contest the custody arrangement. Dominic, myself and several of our colleagues made sure that the will is iron clad, but you should be aware that they may be a problem. Additionally, any legal issues will be handled by our office but we will keep you apprised of everything that happens." After noticing our facial expressions shifting between panic and rage Robert quickly added "Don't worry, there's really no legitimate concern, it's more of a potential annoyance and I just didn't want you to get blindsided".

"Thanks for the heads up." I responded.

"Actually, that's kinda what I expected. It wasn't enough that they were horrible to V, they just had to go for an encore performance." Becks added.

"Alright, onto the other assets. They set aside for money for Dominic's parents, to be donated and they left the remainder for Krista." I let out a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding. I know Becks reassured me that V and Dom would have been prepared, I was glad to know that I wouldn't be ruining Krista's future because I couldn't afford to raise her how my friends wanted. "So they had a trust set up to pay for college and whatever post high school education Krista pursues. She will be able to access it after she turns 18. Part of the payouts from Dominic and Veronica's life insurance policies will be added to this trust. The rest is for you to use for her school fees and every day costs."

"Wow, they really thought of everything." I whispered, in awe of my friends' planning prowess.

"Yes, they were very thorough. Definitely helped me when my wife got pregnant." Robert agreed with a faraway look in his eyes before he snapped back and focused on us. "Additionally, the condo is yours to use as you see fit. Even without selling or renting the condo, you should have enough for at least a few years, including the cost of private school tuition." Robert explained.

"Oh, we've already gone through my budget, and their savings will only be needed to pay for Krista's school" I responded quickly. I was afraid people would think that I was looking at Krista like a payday, and nothing could be farther from the truth. Her parent's money would be used for her and only her.

"Of course, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I can see why they chose you. Unfortunately, the housing market isn't very attractive right now, and you may have a difficult time selling the condo, although renting it should be much easier. Also, the monthly upkeep for this place isn't too hefty, so you can take a few months before you decide what to do." Robert continued.

"Okay, so first thing tomorrow, we need to finalize things for Krista's school, our new apartment and movers." I stated succinctly, glad to have a play of action.

"And we can deal with realtors when there's a lull" Becks added.

"Oh I already gave Rebecca both copies of the house key and the security code, so you're all set there. Finally, I need you to sign these documents where marked and I'll handle contacting CPS in Trenton. They will be conducting three surprise check-ins with you over the next six months to graduate from temporary to permanent custody" Robert finished, handing me a stack of paper.

I was too focused on the CPS situation to really pay attention to what I was signing and relied on Becks and Mary Lou to make sure I didn't accidently sign away something important. After Robert left, the three of us sat down in the living room with some wine, planned how we would spend the next few days and drifted off to sleep while reminiscing stories about our friends. I hated that it was starting to feel like V and Dom were really gone.

Margaret Smith POV

After fixing a martini for myself, I called my Thomas, my younger son back. He had left several messages for me to call him back at his office as soon as possible.

"Dr. Smith's office, this is Sarah, how can I help you?"

"Sarah, this is Margaret, Thomas' mother." I answered the obnoxiously perky receptionist's question.

"Mrs. Smith, I'll transfer you right away."

"Thank you."

A few moments later, Thomas answered the phone, "Mother, thank goodness you called. Is Father there with you?"

"No, he's at a meeting. He won't get home for another hour or so."

"Oh well, I have some.. uh… bad news Mother."

"Is everything okay?"

"Well, no Mother. I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but Veronica and her husband were in a car wreck last night, and they both passed."

"Wh-what?!" I whispered, stumbling into a chair. My daughter was dead. My estranged daughter was dead.

"Yes, one of Veronica's husband's coworkers, Robert Lawrence, called me this morning to let me know."

"Oh my, I can't even remember the last time I spoke with her." I lied. I knew exactly the last time I had talked with, well yelled at Veronica. I had my sons William and Thomas guilt Veronica into coming to Thanksgiving Dinner four years ago. Our lovely family dinner quickly turned vitriolic when Veronica took offense on behalf of her Puerto Rican husband. Since that day, our tense relationship had been reduced to no relationship.

How she could marry that man was still beyond me. I had no idea where or how we had gone so wrong with her. And now there was no time left for her to come to her senses. Although perhaps there was some silver lining to be found in this tragic situation.

"Well, what about her daughter, Christine. She'll be coming to stay with us, right? Surely she isn't going to stay with Veronica's husband's family."

"Krista, Mother. Veronica's daughter's name is Krista." Thomas said, with a slight edginess to his tone. He was always closest to Veronica and even managed to stay in touch with her and maintain their relationship even after the fallout from that awful Thanksgiving.

"Honestly Thomas, Krista is hardly a name. We will be calling her Christine."

"About Krista," he continued pointedly, "Veronica and Dominic have made iron clad arrangements appointing one of their friends, Stephanie Plum, as Krista's legal guardian."

"Stephanie... she was the Veronica's friend from college who was in business school, right?"

"Yes, mother. I believe now she's working in law enforcement or something now. The important fact is that the arrangements Veronica and Dominic made are set in stone."

"Well we'll see about that." Hmm, I'm sure Veronica's friend would be relieved to have Krista's responsibility taken on by someone much more qualified. "When is the funeral?"

"It's on Saturday morning, I'll email Father the information. However, I've been told to inform you that if you and Father can't participate in a respectful manner, well, then you ought not to come." Thomas finally managed to get out.

The audacity, telling us not to attend our own daughter's funeral. Ridiculous. I needed to tell my husband and then speak to our attorneys. There had to be some way to gain custody of Christine a chance to have the daughter I dreamed of.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

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SP POV

I woke up at 8AM the next morning to an incessant ringing and a mild hangover. Who the fuck was calling so early. Don't they know we were grieving?!

"Dammit Steph, answer your phone!" Becks croaked out.

I stumbled up from the chair I apparently slept in and headed for toward my phone which was apparently in the kitchen. Unfortunately it had stopped ringing by the time I got there. Ugh, missed call from RangeMan. I guess I'm running a bit late for that meeting I requested. I chugged a glass of water and called into RangeMan.

"RangeMan Trenton, how can I help you?" said one of the new hires, Topher I think, or maybe it's Alex.

"Hey, it's Steph. Could you transfer me to Tank's office please?"

"Sure thing, ma'am"

"Thanks, and it's Stephanie, I'm not ready to be a ma'am." Or a mom, for that matter.

After a few rings I heard Tank's booming baritone. How was he so alert at this time? Unreal. "How are you this morning Bomber?"

"Hanging in there. Sorry I missed you guys earlier? Do you still have time."

"Sure thing, the guys are still here. You're on speaker."

"Good morning!" "Rise and shine sleeping Beautiful!" Bobby and Lester greeted me. Hmm, they were also annoyingly cheerful. Maybe it's cause they had coffee. I started the coffee machine and began the meeting. "Hey guys, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, we're just thrilled you've decided to move out of that death trap apartment" Bobby responded.

"The first, second and fourth apartments have the most comprehensive security systems, but the second one doesn't have a secure parking area, and well, it's definitely a must for you." Lester added.

"Also, we've been talking about how to keep your identity protected and the easiest ways to do it would be to either rent it under an alias or RangeMan can rent it and you would sublet it. Although these only truly protect your identity if you live like a hermit and don't interact with any other tenants which seems unlikely for you. However, since they are RangeMan secured properties, we could keep the information from showing up unless the background check was run by someone with RangeMan or Federal resources and when you sign the lease, just explain to them that you demand privacy and any breaches could lead to liability for any break-ins, firebombs or attacks. We'd be glad to help them understand the seriousness of the situation if you need." Tank explained.

"Okay, that sounds like the best option. Also, I.. um.. shit.."

"Bomber, just spit it out. We're here for you no matter what." Bobby replied.

"You're right. I need to know that barring exigent circumstances, NO ONE will access to my apartment aside from people that I specifically give a key to and the alarm code to." Hopefully they would understand that this meant I no longer wanted surprise nighttime visits from the big bad boss man without making it a big deal.

"Well Beautiful, doesn't that seem hypocritical. I mean you can fob your way onto 7?" Yup, you can always count on Lester to point out the elephant in the room and demand that it be addressed.

"You seem to be misinformed. Feel free to corroborate with Hector." After a few seconds of awkward silence I decided to get the meeting back on track. "Also, is it possible for me to work from home some?"

"Sure thing little girl. As long as you're here for the morning meetings and you work 40 hours a week plus the occasional distraction you're more than free to do paperwork from home. Once you get your new place I'll have Hector stop by to get you all set up." Tank assured me.

Man, I had the best job. It was interesting, full of variety, required me to spend time with hella hunky men and allowed for flexibility.

"Anything else?" Bobby asked.

"One more thing actually. I'd like for this to stay between the four of us for now, please."

"Absolutely Beautiful," Lester assured me.

"Well, one of my best friend's from college and her husband passed away early Thursday morning and they awarded me custody of their daughter, my goddaughter. I need to add her to my insurance. The law office that handled the will is going to fax over all of her pertinent information to Bobby in the infirmary. Can you get that paperwork started and let me know if anything's missing."

"Sure thing, I'll take care of it" Bobby answered.

"Thanks Bobby, I owe you one. As for when I'll be back, we're packing up the essentials and I'll be driving it down in a U-haul but I want to wait until we have the apartment lease signed. We were hoping to finalize the apartment today and hopefully we'll be moved in by Monday or Tuesday so my ETA for being back into work is in a week." I rattled out the schedule Mary Lou, Becks and I had decided on the night before.

"Sounds good. You can take more time if you need little girl. Let us know if you need anything. You're in Boston right?" Tank said.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, we've got a couple guys coming down from the Boston office for a week to help set up security systems for some of the new clients you've helped us sign. Anyhow, they were planning on leaving Sunday and I'm sure they would love to drive your U-haul and get a couple of the other guys to help pack and move your goddaughter out." Tank added.

"No Lester, I don't want to take advantage of you guys anymore than I already have. We're mostly just moving out Krista's bedroom, things with sentimental value and random furniture and things because, well, everything in my place needs to be scrapped."

"Agreed on the furniture, but well, the guys at RangeMan Boston heard you were in town they really want to meet you and help, especially after all the stories we've told them about you."

"Great, my calamitous tales have preceded me. I appreciate the offer, really, but I'm not really in the most friendly mood right now."

"Trust me, the other RangeMan locations are curious to meet you because they're impressive with your skills and because you're the first non-housekeeper, full-time RangeWoman and, well.."

"Damn Tank, just spit it out. They also want to meet you because your hot referred to as Manoso's woman." Lester blurted out.

"Umm, I, ya I don't know how to respond to that. I still don't feel right about you making strangers move my-"

"Too late little girl. I already sent out an email to the Boston office. Expect a phone call around 1500, and be ready to give them an estimate on how many boxes and supplies you need and when they drop that off show them what furniture you need to ship and they'll bring over the right sized U-Haul and a few guys to move you out whenever you're ready on Sunday." Tank replied, business as usual.

"Only if you keep a record of the cost of the supplies, rentals, and the guys' time and bill me for it. Deal?"

"Ok Bombshell, except for the guys time, the email specified volunteers only." Tank countered.

"Thanks guys, I know I'm being a pain about this, but I really do appreciate it. You've definitely helped take care of a few things on my unending to do list. I'm not even sure how to repay your kindness."

"Easy, you get to explain the recent _changes_ to Ranger when he gets back." Lester said, chuckling. Guess the big muscly manly men didn't want to tell Ranger why he could no longer break into my apartment at all hours.

"That seems fair consider it done. Any idea as to when that will be?"

"A week or two. Let us know if you need anything else and keep us updated on your schedule." Tank replied before they hung-up. At least their phone etiquette is consistent, that's something.

After chugging some coffee and checking on Kris, who was still sleeping, I took a quick shower and got ready for the day in a royal blue tank top and white shorts with minimal makeup and my hair fixed into a messy bun held up by a couple of pencils.

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I headed to the kitchen where Mary Lou and Becks had finished preparing a breakfast of pancakes and fruit. After a inhaling my breakfast while going over my conversation with the guys, we decided that we'd pack up all of Kris's things, furniture that would fit in my new apartment, all kitchen and household supplies, random pictures, scrapbooks, tchotchkes that had sentimental value and would help Kris cope with all the changes, and V and Dom's valuables and things that Kris would want like V's wedding dress and V's collection of books. V had a love of literature and had been working as an assistant editor for a local publishing house. Her parents were adamant that she pursue a more lucrative career as a MD or MBA, like her two older brothers, father and grandfather. V was the black sheep of her family, the free thinker. When I met her, it was like meeting a kindred spirit, my true sister. And now she was gone. Taken. Despite the fact that we didn't keep in touch as often as I'd like, she was my best friend, the person that knew me best and one of the most incredible, selfless and inspiring people I've had the honor of knowing.

"Thanks for breakfast ladies. I'm going to wake Kris up, make sure she eats and get her ready for the day. What are you two going to do?"

"I'm going to get cleaned up and I'll finalize things with the school and the ballet studios." Becks answered, finishing her coffee.

We both turned to Mary Lou, waiting for her response. "After I clean up here and get ready and I'll walk through the condo and get a rough estimate of packing supplies we'll need so when the Boston RangeMen call we can have an answer for them. Do you think they'll be as hot as the Trenton guys?"

I nodded absentmindedly. "I think it's like an unwritten hiring criteria, must be able to ruin a woman's panties in less than 10 seconds."

I grabbed a tray with Kris's breakfast and headed into her room. I settled onto the bed and gently woke Krista up. I could tell she'd been crying and wasn't in the mood to talk yet. I placed the food tray in front of her as she sat up in her bed. She ate silently while I rubbed circles on her back. Once she'd had her fill of breakfast, she slumped into my side.

Krista pointed toward the end of my bed at my ankle and stated "You have a design where Mommy has one". Her voice was definitely stronger than it sounded yesterday. That was something at least.

"Your mommy, Aunt Mare, Aunt Becks and I are best friends. They're like the sisters I wish I had. When we were in college, we decided we wanted to do something permanent and matching" I looked over at her and she was paying close attention, but her gaze was focused on the nickel-sized tattoo on inside of my left heel. "Did your mommy ever tell you the story of why we got the designs munchkin?" She turned to face me and shook her head.

Hmm, I guess V never told her the story behind our tattoos. Crap, was it bad to tell a kid about things like tattoos? Super, less than 24 hours into my guardianship and I may have made an egregious faux pas. "Did you ever ask her about it?"

"No, not really. I told her I thought it was pretty and she drew a matching one on me but it washed away."

"Well ours are forever and you need to be grown up to make those kinds of decisions. So do you want to hear the stories for why we each got our different ta- designs." I was wary of saying tattoo, it just seems a little un-child friendly whereas design makes it sound more like carnival face paint or something.

"Yes please Aunt Stephie." After placing the breakfast tray on the floor I pulled up a photo saved in my phone album of just the four of our tattoos, for a little show and tell.

"Okay, so Aunt Mare decided she wanted a heart because at the time she and Uncle Lenny had just gotten engaged and she'd always loved Disney princess stories and she believes in fairy tales and happy ever after." I waited for her to nod as she stared at the image on my phone.

"Aunt Becks always wanted to be a lawyer, ever since she was a little girl. She wanted to help put bad guys in jail. So she got the Chinese symbol for faith to remind herself to trust that the good guys would win." I explained, pointing to the Becks' tattoo in the picture.

"I've always wanted to be Wonder Woman when I grew up, even now. She was a superhero who fights bad guys and protects people. There's nothing she can't do. The two W's in my design are her symbol."

"So she's like Batman or Iron man?" Krista asked, with awe in her voice.

"Exactly, but she has much cooler toys like an invisible plane, a lasso of truth and bracelets that deflect bullets."

"Wow. Mommy used to tell me stories about how you would help catch bad guys and keep them from hurting other people. So maybe if you could just get the bracelets and that other stuff you'd be just like Wonder Woman."

"Good idea Kris. So, are you ready to hear about your Mommy's design?"

"Yes please!" She was buzzing with excitement.

"So your Mommy decided she wanted a dandelion blowing in the wind." I pointed to the image which had a dandelion on the inside of her heel and blowing seeds which were spread up and toward the front of her ankle. "Did you ever make a wish on a dandelion?"

"Mhmm"

"Your Mommy would always make a wish if she found a dandelion. She always followed her dreams because she knew how important it was to do what made her happy and to be true to herself, always, no matter what other people thought or said. She said that blowing her wishes into the air with dandelions was like sending a hug into the universe."

"Wow."

"Mhmm. I know it may not make that much sense now, but it will, when you get older. I just want you to know how special your Mommy was."

"Aunt Stephie, I know they're called tattoos." Krista whispered, like she was sharing a conspiracy worthy secret.

"That's because you're just waaay too smart for anyone to trick you" I whispered back. Then I scooped her into my lap and tickled her till we were both too tired to laugh any more. "So, you want to get ready, we need to talk about a few things munchkin."

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Twenty minutes later Krista and I joined Mary Lou and Rebecca in the dining room.

"Everything okay?" Mary Lou asked once they noticed we had rejoined them.

"Mhmm Aunt Mare," Krista answered.

"Did she get enrolled at school?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's enrolled at the Milano Academy and I used the account information Robert left us last night to pay for her first semester and Isigned her up for the ballet classes, which will bill you monthly. Also you and Krista have a meeting with the school this Monday at 11AM."

"Awesome, thanks. Hey, do you think I need to sign her up for some counseling or something?".

"Couldn't hurt, ask the school for recommendations." Mary Lou added. "I have an estimate for the amount of boxes we'll need, now we just have to pick an apartment. We've been looking at pictures for the two properties you narrowed it down to. Sit over here and we can check out the floor plans and amenities."

I plopped down next to them with Kris in my lap as we flipped through images while she began coloring in her Disney Princess coloring book. Apparently both properties had a gym, which was definitely a plus. It would save me from getting all sweaty at RangeMan and I could do my workout in the morning before work. The only difference was that square footage and price. I was subconsciously gnawing on my bottom lip as we flipped through pictures. "Steph, what's wrong?" Becks finally blurted out.

"Well, I was just thinking, I'm going to need some storage space, for all the things we're transporting for nostalgia value and well, I was planning on working from home some, so it might be nice if there was an office area for that so my paperwork wouldn't crowd the apartment and we wouldn't be surrounded by boxes of V's things that Kris probably won't need or use for the next few years. Do you think a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment would be doable, given the budget we set up?"

"Yeah, definitely since V's money will cover Krista's school and extra curriculars. You 'll probably have to cut back on shopping, eating out and other extras. Although that's only until you figure out what to do with this place, them you can use a little bit of that every month to make up the difference." Becks explained. I was hella lucky I had her to dumb things down for me and give me the bottom line.

"Well, only one of the apartment buildings has 3 bedroom apartments available, so give them a call and let's see about getting you moved in during this next week!" Mary Lou exclaimed.

We flipped through the pictures for the 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. Looking at the pictures and floor plans, I realized that it was perfect. The perfect place for a new start for both Kris and I. "It is kinda perfect, right?" I said.

I grabbed my phone and a quick phone call later, I had a new apartment (pending some paperwork I needed to fill out online) that would be available and, after a bit of shameless capitalization on my Bombshell Bounty Hunter fame, I convinced the Sophia, the apartment manager to paint the walls for me today so we wouldn't be living in a sterile, white-walled environment and we could move in Sunday night without worrying about fumes. After finishing the paperwork and including a quick email about my need for security Becks, Mary Lou and I started looking through the color options that Sophia emailed us.

We fixed some sandwiches for lunch and the four of us sat down to decide on colors for the new apartment. I was worried Kris would be upset, but after explaining why we were moving and involved her in picking colors for our new place, I think she felt like she had a say in what was going on and that helped her with the change.

We decided on pastel yellow for the kitchen, which complements the white cabinets and appliances and gives a summery, airy feel. We were going to take everything in V and Dom's kitchen so I'll finally have grown up dishes (they matched and everything) and pots. We decided that the dining area would be a light green color called mint frappe, yum! And it would complement the maple dining table we 'd be taking with us. The table seated six which seemed a bit overzealous, but it was very comfortable. The living room would be painted in teal frost and would look great with the charcoal and black furniture we'd be taking with us. The sofas were wonderfully plush and I especially loved the giant bookcase entertainment system that was filled with some of V's favorites. I was looking forward to reading some of the novels that spoke to her and sharing them with Kris as she got older. We'd be leaving the red rug, throw pillows and other accents as they were a bit bold for my taste. I decided on a silvery blue color for my bed room and a darker blue for the master bathroom (which had Jacuzzi jets in the spacious tub. All it was missing was a deluxe shower massager and I might never leave it. Kris decided that she had outgrown pink and wanted her room to be purple instead so she chose a lilac color for her room and a more vibrant plum color for her bathroom. Finally, the office and hallways would be an off-white color dubbed toasted marshmallow. I just finished emailing Sophia all of our preferences when I my phone rang.

"Hey" I answered.

"Hello this is Lance from RangeMan Boston. Is this Ms. Plum?' came a deep but excited voice.

"Yes, but please, call me Stephanie." I replied. The whole ma'am and Ms. thing was one of the major downsides to working at RangeMan. Every time I meet a new guy I feel really old. It doesn't help that they are in incredible shape and I'm, well, me.

"I was calling to ask about your packing supply needs. My partner Steele and I will be dropping off what you need and seeing what all you're taking so we know what size U-haul to."

"I appreciate your calling, but I don't want you guys to feel like you have to help out. I know that you don't get all that much down time, and I'd really hate to be taking advant-" I barely managed to give him and out when he cut me off.

"Really, it's no trouble Ms., sorry, Stephanie. We're looking forward to meeting you and are happy to help."

"Are you sure, because if Tank made it seem obligatory, it really isn't and I'll totally handle Tank if he gets mad or something."

"You'd be willing to handle Tank? Damn, you are fearless. Either way, we definitely want to help, so what do you need for packing supplies?" Lance added. I could hear someone in the background chuckling.

I made it part way through the list how many of what size boxes we needed when Kris came up to me, tugged on my shorts and asked it we could go get ice-cream. I nodded yes to her and motioned for Becks to help her put on her shoes.

"Sorry about that Lance, I'm going to have to take care of something, but I'm going to put you on with my friends Mary Lou and Rebecca. They'll go over what all we need and what types of large furniture we're looking at transporting. Okay?"

"No problem ma-Stephanie."

"Great, and if you shoot for about 6-6:30PM for getting here with the packing supplies, you can grab a bite of a non-RangeMan approved meal. Thanks!" I traded Mary Lou my phone for hers and a grocery list. I slipped into some flip-flops I had at the front door, grabbed my purse and left with Kris's hand in mine.

"So, how do you feel about gelato and grocery shopping at Whole Foods down the block? We can get ingredients for Aunt Mare's fancy macaroni and cheese, deal?"

"Deal!" Krista agreed.

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Lester POV

"Little girl as a mother - mind blowing and definite disaster potential. Thankfully she's not still doing skip chasing and is taking her security seriously." Tank said to Bobby and me after our call with Steph.

"Maybe this means her latent maternal instincts are coming out. I wonder if that could translate to any baked goods for the office?" Bobby added.

She would be the only person Ranger would allow to bring in foods composed of saturated fat and sugar. Oh shit. Ranger. He was _not_ going to appreciate Beautiful's newly found maternal side. I mean, my cousin barely managed to integrate Julie into his life, well if one phone call a week counted. But this was Bombshell. Bombshell with a baby. It was Bomb-baby and there was no way Ranger would be prepared for her.

"Guys, there's no way Ranger is going to take Bomb-baby well." I announced.

"Bomb-baby, seriously?" Tank queried.

"Especially since Steph seemed to be dumping him after their couple weeks of dating or hooking up or whatever. Shit, he's going to be insufferable when he gets back." Bobby added.

"At least she said she'd explain things to him, we're off the hook" I said.

"Until he starts taking it out on the mats. Shit, I should order more gauze and suture kits." Bobby grumbled.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

I want to apologize for not going into detail with the funeral – it just really bummed me out and I took the easy way by just glossing over it.

Also, I wanted to clarify Steph's point of view with respect to 'breaking up' with Ranger. After what I imagine to be two weeks of an incredibly satisfying friends with benefits arrangement, Steph realizes that the non-relationship wouldn't work for her and since Ranger's been very upfront on the no dating issue, she's just planning on trying to go back to a friends without benefits situation with the least amount of drama possible, since he is the boss man. Also, any anxiety with respect to any post 'break-up' awkwardness between them (especially in relation to her job) is more just about normal awkwardness or bruised egos rather than Steph thinking that Ranger only wants her to work for RangeMan if there were fringe benefits. Sorry for not explaining that better in the story. (Thanks for the reviews that pointed this out to me!)

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SP POV

The next few days passed in a blur of packing and preparation. At the funeral service this morning Becks, Mare and I spoke along Dom's brother and one of his close friends. It was humbling to hear from others just how amazing V and Dom were, how many lives they touched and improved just by being themselves. Of course V's parents came barreling in and we had to have her brothers escort them out, just like at V's wedding so many years ago. It's sad that they were so wrapped up in being snobby, racist pricks that they missed out on being a part of their daughter and now granddaughters' lives. Luckily their sons new when they had overstayed their welcome before I felt compelled to call up RangeMan Boston to have them forcibly removed.

After the service, we headed to Dante's, Dominic's brother's house. Mare, Becks and I were relieved that Dante and his wife Mercedes offered to host the wake, which made their house the destination for sympathy meals and flowers. There's no way I'd be able to function surrounded by all of that. I was barely going through the motions as it were.

I was seated in the living room with Krista in my lap talking with Dom's parents. They were older when they had Dominic and his older brother, which made them 70ish currently, which is likely why they weren't chosen as Krista's guardian. Mrs. Diaz was a petit yet plump woman who exuded motherly warmth. Her black hair was speckled with gray and pulled back in a relaxed bun and she was wearing a black full-length skirt and matching sweater set. Mr. Diaz was equally gentle and caring and clearly had the Diaz charm that lured V in so many years ago. He was close to 6 feet tall with thinning salt and pepper hair and twinkling, dark brown eyes. They had taken the news that I was appointed Krista's guardian in stride and instantly welcomed me into their family. If Mrs. Diaz could make pineapple upside down cake, I'd seriously be considering adoption.

"Mija, you're family now, please call me Luciana," Dom's mom said in slightly accented English.

"Thank you Luciana, and Krista and I will definitely try to visit you both in Miami. You'd like that, right Kris? To visit your grandparents?"

"Abuelos. And yes, Mommy and Daddy would come and we'd go to the beach…"

"Mija, do you remember this morning when the priest was talking? He said that even though your Mommy and Daddy were very special and loved, God needed them with him, so they had to go. But they are watching over you from heaven, always. Okay?" Frederico, Dom's father said.

After sniffling and wiping away some tears, Krista nodded.

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Becks POV

A few minutes to 4:00 Krista started to fall asleep so Steph, Mare and I decided to head back to V's condo. Once we had Krista tucked away in bed, we opened a bottle of red wine and settled into the living room as It was the only room that hadn't been taken over by boxes.

"I hate this, that it's beginning to seem real. It's just not right, thinking about V in the past tense." Steph said.

"I know, why them?" Mare added.

"Hell if I know. What I do know, though, is that we should try our best to do justice to their memories, give them something to look down at that makes them proud." I added. There was no point asking _why them_, it would just lead to anger and misery.

"I still remember meeting V like it was yesterday. I was at some Halloween fraternity party freshman year at college and some drunk creep was hitting on V, who looked amazing in a catwoman costume. He was too stubborn or drunk to realize that she was beyond uninterested. I walked up to her, in my Wonder Woman finest, gave her a peck on the cheek, hugged her and said _Honey, I've been looking all over for you_. The poor guy was so distracted we scurried away before he could continue his futile attempt at flirting." Steph said, smiling wistfully at the memory.

"I remember meeting her when we both moved into the dorms. I couldn't believe how lucky I was that she was my roommate and we became such fast friends. There was something about her that just made you feel instantly at ease. She was the best roommate." I added.

"Ya, you met V, Steph and I the day after the Halloween party for brunch after some huge test and we told you all about the party." Mary Lou said.

"Oh my gosh, do you remember when the four of us joined that intermural powder puff football league. I don't think I'd ever heard anyone spout off more smack talk and have absolutely no skills to back it up." Steph exclaimed.

"Ya, I have that picture of us after our first game, all sweaty and partially covered in dirt with huge smiles on our faces. I still can't believe we won that game. It was all luck. Well, luck and smack talk." I reminisced.

"Ooh, I need a copy of that." Steph added. "I'm thinking of doing like a wall full of pictures in the new apartment, something to remind me of the happier times and make the place more homey."

"That's a really good idea, I think Krista would like that as well." After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Mare continued. "Do you guys remember spring break sophomore year and the fake ID debacle?"

"Gosh yeah. V couldn't remember her fake ID birthday and that cute bouncer still let us in because he had a little crush on her." Steph added.

"She had that whole batting her eyelashes and hair flip thing down to a science. Many men succumbed to that, so the cutie bouncer was in good company." Mare said while giggling.

We spent the rest of the evening reminiscing and sharing stories and went to bed early. We had a lot to do the next day.

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Lance POV

Steele and I arrived at Ms. Plum, sorry, Stephanie's friend's condo at precisely 0600 Sunday morning to load furniture and boxes into the U-haul. Like many of the RangeMan Boston guys, I had been skeptical of the rumors implying the Trenton's Bomshell Bounty Hunter was Manoso's woman, singular. I mean, women literally fell over themselves to give it up to him. However, after meeting Stephanie, I could definitely see what drew Ranger to her. Aside from the fact that she was gorgeous with piercing blue eyes, she had a warmth and sincerity about her that drew you in. I mean, when we dropped off packing supplies she insisted that Steele and I stay to eat dinner and thanked us profusely for our help. Needless to say the rest of the Boston guys were jealous that we got Bombshell duty, even if it did mean that we had to drive a Uhaul and help with moving. Ranger was one lucky SOB.

I knocked on the door and was greeted by Stephanie's friend Mary Lou and the enticing aroma of fresh coffee. "Good morning guys! Come on in and grab some breakfast. I cook when I'm stressed and I seem to have over done things this morning," she said as she ushered us into the kitchen. There was a platter full of French toast and another with scrambled eggs.

Steele and I eagerly loaded plates up with the delicious smelling breakfast and sat at the counter to eat. We were just finishing up when a sleepy Stephanie and Krista walked in.

"Good morning guys" "Good morning Mr. Lance and Mr. Steele." Stephanie and Krista grumbled in greeting.

"Good morning ladies. Thanks for the amazing meal. We'll get started on loading up the Uhaul in a bit." Steele answered.

"Oh take your time." Stephanie's friend Rebecca said. "We're still finishing boxing things up, so there's no rush".

An hour later, we had the apartment mostly emptied out and were on the road towards Trenton, following Mary Lou's champagne colored minivan.

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SP POV

Six hours and one bathroom break later, we were pulling into the parking garage at The Gables Apartment Building. Sophie, the apartment manager insisted on delivering the apartment keys personally even though I had offered to have a Merry Man pick them up. Apparently she was quite the Bombshell Bounty Hunter fan.

"Alright, let's head on up to your new apartment!" Sophie exclaimed. The six of us followed her into the elevator. "You're really going to love this place. It has a wonderful open floor plan, tons of sunlight and the building is centrally located. Also, it gets you a bit further from the Burg than you were, which I imagine is a relief."

"You have no idea. So I take it you grew up in the Burg as well?" I asked Sophia.

"Yup, I was actually a freshman in high school when you were a senior and just recently escaped the Burg." She answered.

"Congratulations!" I replied.

The elevator stopped at the seventh floor and we all followed Sophia down the beige and brown scroll pattern carpeted hallway to the door numbered 714. Sophia unlocked the door, handed me two sets of keys and her card. "The apartment alarm is currently 1111, and there are instructions to reset it on the kitchen counter and the gym and pool are located on the top floor. Feel free to call with any questions."

"We're gonna head back down and start bringing up stuff." Lance said as he and Steele headed back towards the elevator leaving the four of us to explore the apartment.

The apartment was incredible, especially when compared to the rat-trap I had been living in. The foyer led straight into the kitchen, both of which had light cream tiled floors. The kitchen was filled with state-of-the-art chrome appliances, Mahogany colored cabinets and a breakfast bar. The counters were all rich black granite with specks of grey and silver that caught the light. It was a room that actually inspired me to learn the basics of cooking just so I could spend some time in it. The kitchen led seamlessly into the dining area which was open and had one wall with large windows overlooking a street with several shops. A door at the end of the dining area led to the laundry room which housed a new looking washer and dryer. Definitely superior to the machines in the basement I had been forced to use at my Hamilton Street apartment. No chance of being attacked by crazy laundry gremlins here. Next to the dining room and kitchen was the living room. Its floor was covered in plush cream carpet and it had huge windows that offered an unobstructed view of the adjacent park. The teal frost colored paint kept the room open and airy and would look wonderful with the charcoal and black furniture the guys would be bringing up shortly. There was a hallway that led from the living room to the bedrooms. The first room was the smallest and would be set up as the office. It was across the hall from Krista's bathroom which looked very dramatic with the plum colored paint and the same understated tile as the kitchen. She squealed with delight when she saw how it turned out and then went running to her bedroom next door to see how the lilac paint turned out. Her bedroom was very spacious and had the same sinfully comfortable carpet as the living room and hallway. Becks, Mare and I were also impressed with the ample closet space. Hey, we're girls and we have our priorities. Finally, we walked into the master bedroom at the end of the hallway. The room was huge and had sliding glass doors that led to a small patio that overlooked the park. The silvery blue wall color was understated and very grown up. Across from the patio was the entrance to the walk-in closet that was beyond drool-worthy. There was a section for shoes and plenty of hanging space and shelves to keep me organized. To get to the bathroom, you had to walk through the closet. The cobalt blue walls made the two person Jacuzzi tub stand out. I was pretty sure this would end up being my favorite room in the whole apartment. Well this and my closet.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Mare exclaimed.

"I know! I can't believe it! I feel so grown-up!"

"Yup, if's official. Come on, let's get you unpacked!" Becks added.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

By the time I made it back downstairs to the Uhaul, several of the Trenton Merry Men had arrived to help us move in. I quickly called in enough take out from Pino's to feed a small army and helped the guys carry boxes upstairs. Mare was directing the guys on where to put the various boxes and furniture and Becks and Krista were starting to unpack things, starting with the kitchen. A quick half-hour later, we were all surrounded by boxes and enjoying some pizza in my new apartment.

"So Bombshell, do you need help moving things out of your old apartment?" Tank asked.

"No, it'll probably be just a few boxes of clothes, I'm leaving everything else there and Dillon said he'd have it donated."

"Aunt Stephie, why does Mr. Tank call you Bombshell?" Krista asked.

"Well," I started, wiping some pizza sauce off her cheek, "it's just a nickname, like how we call Rebecca Becks or Mary Lou Mare. Or how I call you munchkin."

"Hmm… okay." She replied.

I blew out a breath of relief, glad that she didn't want to know why the guys settled on Bombshell as my nickname and shot Lester and Woody a glare when it seemed like they might edify Krista as to the origin of my nickname. She was waaaay too young to know about my rather explosive tenure as a bond enforcement agent.

"So, Aunt Stephie, you work with Mr. Lance and Mr. Steele and Mr. Tank and Mr. Lester and Mr. Cal and Mr. Woody? Like how daddy works with Mr. Lawrence?" Krista asked.

"Mhmm, except I work for Mr. Tank and Mr. Lester like how your mommy used to work for Mr. Cohen."

"Cool." Krista announced. Then she sidled up to me, motioned me closer and loudly whispered to me, "Mr. Cal has a design on his forehead like you, mommy, Aunt Becks and Aunt Mare do". She had been trying her hardest not the get caught staring at Cal's flaming skull tattoo while he was helping move things into the apartment.

"Yup," I whispered back. "I think it makes him look tough, what do you think?"

"Very scary, but he helps you catch bad guys so he's our friend." Krista whispered back. "Mr. Cal, I like your design" she announced, motioning to her forehead. "Aunt Stephie, Aunt Becks, Aunt Mare and my mom have them too."

Mare turned to glare at me, apparently talking to elementary aged children about tattoos was a major parenting faux pas. Becks and the guys just laughed as I looked sheepishly back at Mare and mouthed _I'm sorry_.

"A tattoo? Beautiful, you've been holding out on us!" Lester said, smirking at me. "I suppose that means it's somewhere only Ranger would've seen?!"

"What? No! No no no. It's on my foot and my shoes generally cover it up. I guess you're not as aware of surroundings as you claim to be!"

"Sure thing Bombshell." Woody replied, causing me to turn an even darker shade of pink.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

After the guys left, Becks, Mare, Krista and I hopped back into Mare's minivan and headed to Perretti's Furniture Emporium, the premier furniture store in Trenton for someone on a budget. I knew I didn't quite need to bargain shop, especially with my RangeMan salary, but old habits and all that. Hey, at least I wasn't shopping for furniture at yard sales or the Salvation Army. Of course the downside was that within minutes of us entering the store, someone had reported seeing us to the Burg grapevine and my mother called, leaving a message demanding that I show up for dinner tonight at 6PM.

"Well, where do you want to start?" Mare asked me as we stood in the front of the store.

"How about with the office room? That should be the easiest, right?" I answered.

"Definitely. Good plan." Becks replied.

We headed to the left where office furniture was located. After walking through some of the more cumbrous desk options, we found a sleek, walnut desk and matching bookcase that would fit perfectly in the office room. Krista also tried out several office chairs before finding one that was both comfortable and fun to spin in. A girl after my own heart.

"So now all we need is a bedroom set for you, right Steph?" Mary Lou asked.

"Mhmm," I said while following Becks toward the bedroom furniture. The rest of the furniture we brought with us from Boston. "We also need to get some teal throw pillows for the living room, so next we could head to Bed, Bath and Beyond."

The seemingly vast office furniture section paled in comparison to the number of bedroom furniture options. After about forty minutes, we had the choices narrowed down to an espresso wood set with a sleigh bed and polished chrome handles, a black wood set with drawers built into the bedframe, and a simple walnut wood set with brass fixtures.

"So which do you think would go best with the pale blue walls?" I asked.

"I prefer the espresso or the black wood." Becks answered.

"I'm partial to the espresso or the walnut. The black seems too intense." Mare added.

"What do you think Krista?"

"I like the one that's dark but not black the bestest."

"Me too! Thanks munchkin!"

Ten minutes later we had paid for the espresso bedroom set and for an extra $50 and an autograph (I really wish I'd known about the Bombshell Bounty Hunter cachet earlier, I totally would've taken advantage of it), we had delivery scheduled for 6-8 PM.

After deciding on furniture, we headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond where we bought two sets of bedding (shimmery ivory on white damask for me and cream with lavender flowers for Krista), plush towels to match each bathroom and a few other odds and ends that Mare declared were must have items. We also found a teal throw and matching silk brocade throw pillows for the living room.

Our next stop was Mattress Plus for the piece of furniture I was most excited about. I had spent the past several years sleeping on a lumpy, creaky mattress and I couldn't wait to upgrade to something more akin to sleeping on a cloud. Krista and I rushed into the store and proceeded to test out mattresses with Becks and Mare in tow, equal parts embarrassed and amused by our behavior.

After the eighth mattresses, Becks was getting a bit impatient. "Okay Goldilocks, what's the verdict?"

"Hmm, I liked the third one best. What do you think munchkin?"

"I think I liked that one too. Let's try it again, to be sure, 'kay?"

:::::::::::::::

Becks POV

A little before 5PM we pulled into Steph's old apartment's parking lot. "So Steph, where's this incredibly sex-cool, I meant cool, company car you were gushing about!" I said, glancing around the parking lot and avoiding Mare's glare. This whole editing language in front of children thing was a bitch. Dammit, I couldn't even think g-rated!

"Oh, I parked it next to the dumpster, less chance of it getting dinged that way." She said, heading toward the shiny black BMW M3 with Krista's car seat.

"Ugh, it has to be against some rule to put a car seat in a car this sleek!" I exclaimed as she proceeded to wrangle the car seat into the M3.

"Hey, at least I don't have a _Baby on Board_ bumper sticker!" Steph replied, giggling as we headed into the apartment building.

"Seriously, you have the most amazing company car ever! And you get it for personal use too!" I gushed.

"Yeah well, what can I say, I'm a lucky girl! Ranger said since I'm head of sales and client services, I'd be representing RangeMan regardless of whether or not I was on the clock, and rust-bucket wasn't the image he was trying to portray to the ever watchful people of Trenton. So yeah, I have the car for personal use as well. But, I made him let me pay for my own gas, so that's something I guess." I was relieved to hear her independent streak hadn't been dulled any. Although I imagine dealing with Mrs. Plum on the regular kept it finely tuned.

Steph hit the up button on the elevator as we waited. A few seconds later the elevator opened to reveal a stooped, plump woman in her sixties. The four of us got on the elevator while Steph addressed the woman, "second floor please, Mrs. Bestler."

"Aaah, accessories and evening wear. Good choice." She replied, hitting the second floor button. "Come again soon!" she called out as we headed into the hallway towards Steph's old apartment.

Once we walked in, Steph immediately entered the kitchen and dropped a few grapes into her hamster's cage. "Hey Krista, I'm not sure if you remember, but once when I came to visit you I brought Rex, my hamster with me."

"I 'member Aunt Stephie. I 'member we were cleaning his home and he bit Daddy because he was squeezing him on accident!" Krista replied. "Can I give him a grape too?"

"Sure thing," Steph said, handing Krista a couple of grapes. "Just toss them in and he'll come out of his soup can to eat them." Steph left Krista and Rex to their bonding and joined Mare and I in the living room.

"Steph, I thought you were joking when you called this place a rat-trap. How could you live here! You have a BMW for chrissakes!" I whisper shouted at her.

"I know, I know. I was just either insufficiently motivated or employed to move. But hey, focus on the positive fact that I'm moving now!"

"Fine. You pack up the clothes, I'll handle make up, toiletries and accessories, and Mare can pack up pictures and tchotchkes while she keeps an eye on Krista whose keeping an eye on Rex." I rattled out. Thankfully we'd known each other long enough for them to just go with it when I got my bossy on. And I'd been getting my bossy on a lot lately. Anything to keep from falling apart and wallowing, at least until I got back home and was armed with Ben and Jerry's Half Baked and a copious amount of kleenex.

By 5:40PM we had packed everything into Mare's minivan (that thing had a seemingly endless capacity, it was like a creepy magic trick or something) and were parting ways in the parking lot. Steph and Krista were heading to Mrs. Plum's for dinner and Burg grapevine damage control and Mare and I were picking up groceries, ordering Chinese take-out and heading to the new apartment to unpack, wait for the furniture and mattress deliveries and plan a surprise housewarming party.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

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SP POV

I pulled up to my parents' house with 10 minutes to spare. My mom and grandma had both heeded their internal child visiting radar and were waiting at the front door to usher me in. Grandma was sporting a new black velour track suit and my mother was wearing a paisley patterned blouse and khaki pants ironed to within an inch of its life.

I hopped out of the driver's seat and came around to help Krista out from behind the passenger seat. Before we headed up the short walkway I knelt in front of Krista while fixing her top and straightening her hair, "So, are you ready for dinner at casa de Plum?"

"Mhmm, I'm feeling kinda hungry."

"Well, let's head inside then!" I grabbed her hand snugly in mine and headed towards the door.

"Hurry up Stephanie. Maria Caruso never makes her mother wait on her to come inside!" my mother admonished from the stoop.

And so it begins.

"Sorry Ma, we're coming!"

"Well who is this beautiful girl?" Grandma Mazur asked, winking at Krista and eliciting a small giggle.

"This is Krista, Veronica's daughter. Krista, this is my Mom, Grandma Mazur and that over there is my Dad." I said, motioning at my father who was more or less permanently fused to his recliner, oblivious to the world.

"It's nice to meet you." Krista replied from her position slightly behind me.

"Oh you poor dear," my mother whispered.

"Hey munchkin, why don't you get some coloring done while I help set the table. There are coloring books, paper and crayons on the coffee table in the living room." I said. I figured explaining things to my mom sooner rather than later would be the best course of action. This way, if she felt like telling me I was in over my head there wouldn't be an audience.

"I'll help you get set up cutie." Grandma Mazur said, taking Krista's hand and leading her into the living room while I followed my mom into the kitchen.

"Why that poor, poor girl. I can't even imagine… So what's this I hear about you going furniture shopping? You know I shouldn't have to hear what's going on in my own daughter's life from Burg busybodies! Besides, I could have helped!"

"Sorry Ma, it's been a crazy week and things have been moving pretty quickly."

My mother responded by sighing pointedly while she checked something in the oven. Off to a wonderful start. Way to go, Plum.

"Anyhow, I told you earlier that my friend from college, Veronica, and her husband passed away. Well," _quick like a bandaid, just spit it out!_ "they awarded me custody of Krista so I've been trying to get a handle on things with Mary Lou and Rebecca's help."

"What?! Who in their right mind would want you to parent their child?" my mother exclaimed incredulously.

I was rapidly approaching full-blown rhino mode. "She's my goddaughter and I love her. I've already made some changes to be better-"

"You can't be serious about this? You _want_ to be a single parent? Forget Joseph, not even Bernie Kuntz or that thug you work for will want you now! And for what?! Someone who isn't even a blood relative! You can't, I won't let you!"

Forget rhino-mode, I was so far beyond that I wouldn't be able to recognize it in my rear-view mirror. I was literally buzzing with anger. This must be my momma bear mode, like when people are able to lift cars off of their pinned children. "Excuse me? You don't get to decide what I choose to do. I am a grown woman capable of making her own decisions regardless of your unsolicited opinion."

"Bu-"

"No, Mother. There is no discussion, V trusted me with Krista, me. She chose me to care for the most important person in her life, and I am going to do whatever I can to raise that precious girl with unconditional love and support."

"This will ruin your chances of getting married and having children of your own. I can't believe Veronica and her husband could be so selfish."

"Don't you talk about them," I said with a calm yet menacing tone, enunciating each word individually. "Family comes in all forms and V was more of a sister to me that Val could ever hope to be. And frankly, I don't have room in my life for someone who can't be civil, much less supportive."

"How dare you talk to me like that! You will call Veronica's family right now and make other arrangements, or so help me-"

"Or what, Mother?" I challenged, the word Mother dripping with disdain.

"Or you are no longer welcome in this house! So, what'll it be?" Helen said, smugly.

"Goodbye then. Don't bother calling unless you're prepared to apologize for your heartless words." I swiftly turned around, headed past Grandma Mazur who was eavesdropping to collect Krista.

"Good for you, baby girl." Grandma Mazur said as I passed her. I was relieved I could continue to count on her for support. Support and the latest gossip at the Clip 'n Curl.

"Hey munchkin, that is a really awesome picture of a unicorn you drew." I said, kneeling next to her.

"Thanks Aunt Stephie. His name is Snowflake and we're both riding him!" Krista answered. It was going to look amazing on our fridge. Finally, art I can actually get into!

"I think I'd rather eat out, okay?"

"Okay Aunt Stephie. Oooh, can we have Mexican?" she said excitedly.

"Absolutely!" And the two of us headed out without a backward glance.

:::::::::::::::

Ella POV

I still couldn't believe it. I mean I had heard the rumors that Stephanie was moving to a new, more secure apartment and that she was now the sole guardian of a 5 year old girl, but it just seemed a bit far-fetched to me. Not the apartment part, but the instant motherhood. That was until her friend Mary Lou called to invite me to a surprise housewarming party for Stephanie to help her celebrate and decompress after what was sure to be a harrowing meal with her mother. It still amazed me how unappreciative Helen Plum was when it came to Stephanie. Maybe it was because she just took Stephanie's kindness and sincerity for granted. Or rather perhaps I didn't take her for granted because while I loved my two sons, Louis and I hadn't been blessed with a daughter and I saw Stephanie as the daughter I wish I'd had.

I was on my way to Stephanie's surprise housewarming party but I needed to make a quick stop at Pottery Barn to pick up some of the Egyptian cotton sheets Stephanie loves!

:::::::::::::::

Lula POV

"So, this is skinny white girl's new digs? Hot damn!" I said as Mary Lou gave me a quick tour of the apartment. Finally, Steph got out of that dump. I mean, I live over near Stark Street but even my place was better that her old place.

"Yeah! So, what do you think about the housewarming gift idea? The picture collage on the wall behind the big sofa in the living-room?" Mary Lou asked.

"She's gonna love it!" I assured her.

"Definitely" Connie agreed. "So, do you have the frames and pictures picked out?"

"Well, Becks and I picked up frames on our way here and she went to get the picture prints while I waited here for you guys and the furniture and mattress delivery people. Hopefully they'll be here soon."

"Mhmm. Well I say we get started on that Chinese food while we wait. I'm feeling a little faint here!" I said. I had a special evening planned with Tank, and I'd definitely need to fuel up! What can I say, I just can't get enough of him and he clearly feels the same way.

We sat down at white girl's new dining room table and just began to eat when Mary Lou's phone rang.

"Shit, it's Steph. Why's she calling from dinner at her parents'?"

"Well girl, go on and answer it!"

"Right, okay," a frazzled Mary Lou replied while Connie and I shared a look. "Hey Steph, how's it going? Oh shit, I'm sorry."

See, this here's the problem with only hearing one side of the conversation. "What's going on?" I whispered to Mary Lou.

Mary Lou waved noncommittally and continued her conversation. "Ya, you did the right thing. No, we picked up takeout, you two go though. You deserve a relaxing meal. Mhmm. See you soon." And she clicked her phone shut.

"Well?" Connie asked.

"Apparently Mrs. Plum was in fine form today and kicked Steph out because she wouldn't give Krista up."

"Seriously!" "That is some cold hearted shit!" Connie and I responded simultaneously. But before we could work up any real steam, the intercom buzzed.

"Ooh the furniture!" Mary Lou exclaimed, running to the front door with Connie and I in tow.

Thirty minutes later, Connie, Mary Lou, Becks, Ella and I were stuffed, had put up a shit ton of pictures in the living-room and were admiring the new furniture. Now we just needed Steph to get her skinny white ass here so we could get to celebrating!

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

After stuffing our selves with Chipotle's signature larger-than-your-face burritoes, Krista and I headed home. It was weird that the new apartment was starting to feel like home and we hadn't really even lived there yet. I guess I always treated my old apartment on Hamilton as a temporary place even though I lived there for half a decade which is totally different from how I felt about the new place. It was home. And hopefully it would be a good home and new start for both of us.

I had barely opened the apartment door when we were greeted by an exuberant "Surprise!" from Mare, Becks, Lula, Connie and Ella.

"Wha-What's going on?" I asked, guiding Krista into the apartment.

"This here's a surprise housewarming party!" Lula replied.

"Wow, this is incredible. Thank you all! Oh and this is Krista." I said, my hands resting on Krista's shoulders. "Krista this is Aunt Ella, Aunt Lula and Aunt Connie."

"It's nice to meet you all" Krista replied, caught up in the revelry surrounding us.

"So, did the furniture get here okay?" I asked.

"Yup. Do you wanna check out your room Krista?" Becks asked.

"Yes yes yes!" Krista shot off toward her new room, the rest of us scrambling after her.

Clearly the girls had been quite busy while I was having my showdown with Helen and eating. They had managed to completely unpack and set up Krista's bedroom. Her side table and white canopy style bed was settled along the wall with three large side-by-side windows. The chest was against the opposite wall near the door as was the bookcase that was filled with the board games, dolls and art supplies we'd brought from Boston. The desk was also set up by the window to allow for plenty of natural light. The lilac walls and lavender accented bedding really brought the room together. I went to open the closet to find that it too was perfectly organized.

"Wow, this is incredible! Thank you guys so much for doing all of this!"

"Mhmm, I love it! Thank you all!" Krista said, running around the room to give everyone a hug.

"Alright! Now for the housewarming gift!" Becks announcing, shepherding everyone towards the living-room.

"You mean that wasn't the gift?"

"It get's better." Connie assured me.

I stopped completely the second I entered the living room. Back behind the 3-seater sofa was a wall of pictures, 20 or so. It was incredible and a trip down memory lane. There were pictures of me with V, Becks and Mare from college, one of featuring only our tattoos, A picture of Lula and I after some skip related mishap (we were covered in food but clearly pleased with ourselves), a picture of Me and Joe, Eddie Gazarra, Carl Costanza and Big Dog at Pino's, one of me leaning against the brick alley wall with Ranger looming over me, tucking a curl behind my ear, a recent photo of me and the Merry Men at Shorty's, a few pictures of V, Dom and Krista, one of my family and so many more. The piece de resistance however was the center picture of me cradling Krista at her Baptism.

I couldn't help myself, I started to tear up.

"Shi-shoot white girl, you okay?" Lula asked as Elle surreptitiously handed me a kleenex.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I just, am really touched, this is incredible. It makes the place so warm and homey." I said, sniffling. "Gosh, it's like I leave Trenton for a few days and came back broken!" I finished, trying to laugh away my emotional state.

"No dear, you left Trenton for a few days and came back a mom." Ella corrected.

Hmm. Could she be right? I did go all momma bear on my mother earlier..

"Thank you guys so much. For putting this together and for just being here for us."

"Always" Mare answered for the group.

We spent the next hour or so unpacking things in the kitchen and living room and playing Candyland until Krista started to nod off. Connie, Lula and Mare had left while I was getting Krista ready for bed. When I came back to the living room, Ella gave me a hug, the comforting kind that makes you feel loved and like everything will be okay. In short, the kind of hug only a mother can give.

"Stephanie, I am so proud of you. You've really come into your own over the past month and what you're doing for your friend just further proves what am amazing woman you are." Ella said, handing me a gift bag.

"Thank you, I really needed to hear that. But you already do so much for me, you didn't need to get me anything." I protested.

"Trust me, you'll love it! And I like doing things for you dear. If you need help with anything, let me know. Okay?"

"Mhmm. Actually, I was wondering if you had some simple recipes. I highly doubt Tastycakes and doughnuts are meant to be staples in a growing child's diet."

"Absolutely. I can put together a binder of some simple recipes and perhaps I could teach you some harder ones every now and then."

"Thanks! That sounds perfect! I meant to ask my mom, but well…"

"Don't worry, If she is too closed minded to realize what an amazing person you are, it's her loss. I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

"Thank you Ella, for everything."

:::::::::::::::

Becks POV

"So, you wanna check your room out Steph?"

"Oh my gosh yesss! I haven't had a chance to since the furniture arrived. I was too caught up in the amazing picture wall and unpacking. Which, by the way – thank you. It is seriously the best present ever."

I waved her off and led the way towards her bedroom. I opened the door and did my best Vanna White impression while adroitly navigating the boxes and bags of toiletries and clothing scattered throughout the room. Over here across from the door we have the sleek sleigh bed bookended by nightstands." I said, continuing my commentary and Vanna White impersonation, "Note the white damask comforter and obscene amount of pillows. Finally, across from the bed we have the matching dresser and mirror." I finished with a flourish.

"Thanks Vanna!" Steph cheekily responded. "So, do you think I should unpack now or leave it 'til the morning?"

"Well, I think we should just get it done. Besides, Mare and I already put away your business-ie clothes, dresses and shoes."

She stopped looking through one of the boxes and quirked her eyebrow at me.

"What?! I wanted to see the selection incase I needed to borrow anything! Speaking of which, the red suede peep-toe platform stilettoes – so hot!"

"Oh yeah, those are my _I need to ask my boss for a favor_ shoes." Steph replied. "I usually pair them with my black lace overlay _I can be business maven and sexy_ skirt."

"I bet you do! Hey so how are things going with the boss man?" I asked while we started unpacking the rest of her clothes.

"Well, I mean, he's been out of town for about two weeks, but good I guess."

"I call BS – what's really going on?"

"Well, we had a sorta.. ugh.. a friends with benefits arrangement going on for a couple of weeks." Steph managed to spit out, looking down while a pink blush worked its way up her face.

"Good for you, if I remember correctly that means you had two weeks of no-strings-attached sex with your very own Cuban sex god."

"No, well yeah. It _was_ pretty spectacular, and at the time between the new job and all the training and getting over Joe, well it was perfect and all I had time for. The not so good part though is that I mean, I lo-well, I love him and really value him as a friend and I wouldn't be able to keep the sex compartmentalized. The feelings I have for him would bleed into the sex."

"Oh Steph, I'm so sorry. I knew you cared about him and that you're close friends, but love, I had no idea."

"Yeah well, it shocked the hell-heck, I meant heck, out of me too. Man this whole g-rated vocabulary thing is waaay tougher than it seems!"

"Tell me about it. I was really worried when Lula and Connie first showed up. Lula was dropping F-bombs all over the place. But when we explained about Krista she locked it down, better than I've managed to and I've had almost a week to get used to it!"

Steph giggled as she continued to put her bras and panties into the dresser.

"So, what are you planning to do when Ranger comes back?"

"Well, I mean, he's always been honest and upfront with me about what he wants. And one thing he adamantly doesn't want is a relationship, and while I don't really get it, I respect his choice. So there's not really anything to do."

"Seriously? He doesn't want a relationship? You guys are close friends who had sex, of course there's some sort of relationship between you two!" I exclaimed. Guys could be such idiots sometimes, especially when they were worried their independence was in danger of being infringed upon.

"Well, all that aside, I want to respect his stance which means I go back to being his friend and employee and hopefully things won't be too awkward."

"You don't even want to try for a relationship? You're not one to back down from what she wants, Steph."

"I'm not backing down, I'm just trying to respect what he wants and maintain some dignity and our friendship. Besides, I'm his friend and I want him to be happy and if having a relationship with me won't do that, I don't want to push it. Also, I don't want to have to push or coerce someone into dating me. Contrary to what my mother thinks, I'm not that forgone."

"Okay, if you're sure..."

"I'm sure."

"Alright… I uh.. wanted to ask you about something else.."

"Becks, what's going on? You're not usually one to shy away from anything."

"Okay, well, Mare and I were talking and we were wondering if you had a chance to read the letter? The letter that V left for you in her will." I said, trying to maintain eye contact with Steph. She had been putting off reading the letter since Robert handed it to her and I was worried it could be something that might anchor her in the past if she didn't deal with it.

Steph's gaze shifted to the clothes she was folding. "I haven't yet. It's just too… heavy, you know. It's like the last time she'll ever talk to me and I just can't bring myself to read it." She finally explained, her voice brittle.

"Yeah, I get what you mean. But promise me that you won't put it off forever, okay?"

"Okay" she agreed after sighing.

I picked up one of the boxes of toiletries and nodded for Steph to follow me into bathroom, "so, on a scale of Lorelei GIlmore to Betty Draper how badly did things go with your mom?" I asked as we continued to unpack.

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AN: Thank you to everyone who made the time to read this and to those of you who reviewed. I truly appreciate all of your feedback.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to everyone who's found the time to read this and especially to those of you who've reviewed. This is the first fanfic I've written and I've been really overwhelmed by the positive response I've gotten (especially since the last major thing I wrote was a super dry technical report!). Also, I wanted to apologize for the delay in getting Ranger into the story. I promise he's coming, just not for another few chapters.

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SP POV

I woke up to Krista snuggled against me and an annoying, chirping alarm. "Wha-what time is it?" I grumbled.

"6. We need to head to the airport by 6:45 latest!" Becks answered, annoyingly chipper as she hopped out of bed and headed into the bathroom.

"I hate you!" I whisper shouted at her. I carefully managed to extract myself from around Krista without jostling her and headed into the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine. It was looking like a 2 cup morning, at least. Who has a flight this early anyways? Sadists, that who. Well, sadists and lawyers. I knew she had to get back to NYC for work, but this was a little extreme.

15 minutes later I had doctored two cups of coffee with generous amounts of cream and sugar and headed back towards the bedroom. I handed one to Becks who was getting dressed and headed into the bathroom to take a speedy shower and get ready for the day.

By the time I was dressed in responsible parent attire, which today consisted of a cream A-line skirt with a pink paisley pattern that fell just above my knee, a cream cardigan and 3inch pink wedge sandals, Becks had helped Krista get ready and was just starting to braid her hair.

"Hey, Aunt Stephie's ready! Can you please do my hair?"

"Sure thing munchkin," I said, heading into her bathroom and taking the brush and hair tie from Becks.

"I see how it is," Becks said, sarcastically. "Well, I'm just gonna finish packing up."

"You promise to keep a secret" Krista asked as I brushed and started to French-braid her hair.

"Always" I answered.

"You do my hair better than Aunt Becks, she pulls too hard. But Mommy does it bestest of all..."

Shit. This wasn't how I wanted her to start her day. I finished up her braid and crouched down in front of her so we were eye-to-eye. "I know sweetie, and I'm sorry that Mommy can't do it for you right now. But I promise to get better, okay?"

After a few seconds of thinking and some sniffling, she nodded in response and we walked hand in hand toward the living room where Becks was waiting for us to drop her off at the airport.

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SP POV

After dropping Becks off, Krista and I headed to Star Diner for our weekly breakfast with Connie and Lula. Unfortunately traffic was a nightmare, so we were running a few minutes late.

"Well look who finally decided to show up!" Lula greeted me. She had toned down her wardrobe since starting at the Trenton Youth Center. Apparently the micro-mini spandex outfits were too distracting to the males and some of the females. Today she was wearing a purple business skirt and red collared tank-top shell. Her hair was black with a purple streak in her bangs. Oh and her outfit was rendered complete with 3 inch gold via spigia sandals, naturally.

"Sorry, traffic. Have you ordered yet?"

"Nope, just got coffee for us and a chocolate milk for Miss Krista. Is that okay?" Connie asked, sporting her Betty Boop finest. She was wearing a black and white polka dot short-sleeved blouse, a black stretchy pencil skirt, deep red lipstick and matching nail polish, and her hair teased out to within an inch of its life. It added a good four inches to her height at least.

"Yes! Chocolate milk is my favorite!" Krista responded as we plopped down into our seats.

"So munchkin, what do you feel like for breakfast today. They have eggs, pancakes, waffles, French toast, hash browns, bacon and tons of other stuff."

"Ooh, I want pancakes please." Krista replied.

"Well aren't you just the sweetest!" Lula gushed. "White girl, you could learn a few things about manners from this little angel here."

"Hey, we all could, not just me!" I shot back.

"True, but I got too much personality for politeness, you know?" Lula answered.

There was no questioning her logic. Lula definitely had too much personality and style to be bothered with trivial matters like manners and niceties. My much feebler excuse was that I was too busy. What, it was true!

"So Lula, how's the new job going?" I asked, desperate to shift the conversation away from how we were failing Emily Post. It still amazed me how much Lula had accomplished in the two years I'd known her. She had gumption like none other and had gone from working on to streets to counselor helping kids avoid the fate that she had so recently escaped. Hearing her tell me about her night classes and new career had been part of what forced me to take a hard look at my own life and finally accept the job at RangeMan.

"Things have been going really well, we're getting busier each week. Partly due to because people wanna hang out with me and do all the cool new activities I've got organized and because of the recent fire in that Capello building that burned and people needed a new place to hang out during the day." Lula answered.

"Man, I've been so out of the loop. Are the Capello's being charged with anything for the fires? I heard 2 people died and another 7 were seriously injured." I asked.

"Nope, you know how it is. The Capellos are flush with old money and they have a lot of pull. This is the third building of theirs to have major problems in the past year, and the cops can't or won't do anything." Connie explained.

"Ya, that's what the word is at the Youth Center too. People are really upset, wanting revenge or payback, especially after this last fire." Lula added.

"Krista, Aunt Lula works at a place where kids and teenagers can go to hang out and make friends." I explained.

"That sounds fun, can we go?" She asked.

Somehow my eyes managed to not bug completely out of my skull. I glanced at both Connie and Lula for help explaining why I we couldn't go to the Youth Center located precariously close to Stark Street but my so called friends were just smirking, waiting to hear how I would try to talk myself out of this situation. "Well, I think you're too young right now, but maybe in a few years, okay?" Please say okay, please say okay.

"Okay Aunt Stephie. But I'm not thaaat little. I'm almost five and a half you know." She acquiesced, if a bit indignantly.

"Mhmm," I answered, just as the waitress arrived to take our orders. Someone was getting a 20% tip for impeccable timing.

"So," Connie began, an evil glint in her eye, "what I want to know is how things are going with the ah volunteers at work."

"Oh well, we have a bunch who come in. There are a few on weekdays but we get a lot more on weekends to help set up sports activities and teach classes like mechanics, self-defense, basic business skills and to help with applying to vocational programs and even college." Lula answered, avoiding all eye contact.

"Mhmm," Connie said.

"What I think Connie wants to know is how are things going with the volunteers, or with one volunteer in particular." I amended.

"Huh? I treat all the volunteers the same."

"Puh-lease!" Connie replied. "If you treat _all_ the volunteers the same, I'm pretty sure Tank's gonna have something to say about it!"

"Okay, okay. I'll dish. You two just won't let it go!"

"Hey, we learned from you. Oh and I need you to give us the g-rated version, okay? Please." I quickly added.

"Well, you know Tank started volunteering around the same time I started working at the TYC, that's Trenton Youth Center, we like to use abbreviations and shii-stuff. Anyways," I shot her a grateful look for catching herself. "We got to hang out like friends while he helped me set up a lot of the new activities and programs that the TYC offers, and I got to know a lot about him that I didn't before, when we were dating."

"Get onto the good stuff!" Connie interrupted.

"Ewww, you're dating a boy. Boys have cooties Aunt Lula!"

"It's okay munchkin, because Aunt Lula's old enough to date so she won't get boy cooties." I said. I was all over damage control this morning it seemed.

"How old do you have to be to date? So the boy cooties can't get you?" Krista asked, sincerely curious about dating and boy cootie immunity.

"Oh, well.." I started only to be interrupted by the waitress, a perky twenty something year old with blond hair and a genuine smile as she delivered our dishes. Seriously, she was getting a huge tip for her timing skills.

"So Lula, you were saying" I said, hopefully attempting to sidestepped the dating-age conversation.

"Right, so Tank and I hung out for a few weeks, with a some coffee and lunch meetings. Then two weeks ago we finally decided to go out on a date-date. And we've been… umm" she shot a nervous glance at Krista who was engrossed in her pancakes.

"So you and Tank have been _eating out _for the past two weeks and didn't tell us!" I said.

"No, wait, yes, I mean mostly we've been _eating in_ but there were a few times where we got carried away and ended up _eating out-_" Lula added.

"No! TMI. And in front of Krista no less!" Connie admonished.

"Hey, two weeks though. Why didn't you say anything earlier?" I asked, eating another bite of my amazingly fluffy and cinnamon-y French toast.

"Well… it started around the time Ranger went in the wind, and well.. I didn't want to rub it in." Lula explained.

"Oh I'm so sorry Lula. I didn't mean to make you feel like you couldn't share your good news, and I am totally happy for you and the big guy!"

"Thanks! Big guy huh? I like that, hardly does it justice though!" Lula said, winking and causing the three of us to start giggling like little girls.

"Who's the big guy?" Krista asked.

"It's just what I call Mr. Tank sometimes munchkin."

"Oooh so Aunt Lula, you're dating Mr. Tank but you're grown up so you don't get boy cooties from him?"

"Yup, that's exactly right."

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Helen POV

Why me? I thought as I hung up the phone and poured myself another cup of coffee, heavy on the Irish. I had been receiving phone calls for the past twenty minutes reporting Stephanie having breakfast with a little girl who she seemed very attached to. Why can't she just do what she's told and live up to Burg standards? It wasn't too much to ask, was it?

I was brought from my thoughts by yet another phone call. I would unplug the damn thing, but that just wouldn't be polite, and hiding out from phone calls would really set the Burg grapevine on fire. I could just hear them now, _Poor Helen, doesn't know what to do about Stephanie so she can't even bring herself to answer the phone._

"Plum residence, Helen speaking." I answered, ever the shining beacon of Burg etiquette.

"Hello Helen, my name is Margaret Smith, your daughter Stephanie was friends with my late daughter Veronica." Lovely, it was the woman who should be taking care of their granddaughter instead of having saddled Stephanie with the responsibility.

"Yes, and how can I help you?" I asked in a clipped tone.

"Well, my husband and I wanted to discuss something with you, if you have a moment."

"Go ahead."

"Thank you. Well, as I'm sure you've heard by now, our daughter gave your daughter sole custody of our granddaughter and we wanted to discuss alternative arrangements."

Hmm, this sounded promising. "Really? And what alternative arrangements did you have in mind."

"Well, to be frank, after doing some research on your daughter, we've discovered some disturbing information."

"Excuse me?!" Now where did they get off being critical?

"I mean no disrespect Helen, but she seems to have gotten into quite a few pernicious situations over the past two years and is now working at a security company of all places. It's hardly an environment for a child, especially when there are viable and preferable alternatives."

"Yes, well I don't care much for her recent career choices either, but you still haven't explained what these alternative arrangements you're proposing are."

"Well, my husband William and I would like to take custody of our granddaughter. And I'm sure you'd agree that as her family and people who have raised three successful children, we should be the logical choice to raise our granddaughter."

"I concede you're view, however, I have spoken with Stephanie and she seems adamant about her decision to raise _your_ granddaughter, regardless of reason, and Stephanie can be quite stubborn." I warned her.

"I see, well there is always an argument to be made and I'm sure that we could… properly incentivize Stephanie to see things from our point of view and do what would be best for Krista." Margaret answered.

Hmmm, they were offering to pay Stephanie to give up her guardianship. Perhaps that would be the best way to help her to do what was best for her and Krista. "Unfortunately, my daughter is still mourning the death of her friend, so now may not be the most opportune time to talk to her."

"When do you suggest my husband and I contact her?"

"This Sunday should be fine. Also, might I suggest that you discuss things with Stephanie at our house, that way her father and I could help nudge her into making the right decision." I suggested. After almost 30 years, I had perfected the art of guilting and coercing Stephanie into making the right choices, my choices. And Margaret and her husband would definitely need me if they had any hope of obtaining custody of their granddaughter.

"That would be very helpful, thank you."

"It's my pleasure Margaret. I'll see you and your husband this Sunday."

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SP POV

By some miracle Krista and I managed to make it to the Milano Academy fifteen whole minutes early. I think maybe I was getting the hang of the whole punctual thing.

"Aunt Stephie, what is this place?"

"Well, this is where you're going to be going to school starting next week."

"Bu-but I already have a school in Boston. I like it there. I color and do numbers and then Mommy picks me up and we have lunch and sometimes we surprise Daddy at work! I don't want to go to school here!" Krista announced, working her self up to a full-blown tantrum replete with tears, stomping and a bellowing voice.

I'd never been so desperate for a how-to manual in my life. "I know Kris, I know" I kneeled down in front of her and rubbed my hands up and down her arms a few times before holding her hands. "I want that too, but I think we just have to think of this as a new adventure, like the adventures of Princess Krista in the kingdom of Trenton. And this school is for very special kids only, like you. I promise you'll like it just as much as your old school. Okay."

Krista responded with a sniffle and a pout. Well, that was probably the best I could hope for in this situation. I grabbed a Kleenex from my purse and wiped the tear tracks from her face and managed to quell the ones threatening to fall from my eyes. I didn't think the running mascara look would really endear us to The Milano Academy.

"How about we go in, meet the Headmaster and just see if we like it? Does that sound okay?"

"Fine" Krista huffed as we headed through the heavy double arched mahogany doors and up the stairs bookended by ornate stone banisters towards the Headmaster's office, our footsteps echoing off the spotless hardwood floor with each step. After a while we stepped out of the hallway and into the Headmaster's secretary's office.

"Hello, I'm Stephanie Plum and this is Krista," I announced, with my hands resting on her shoulders, "we have a meeting with Headmaster Brandt."

"It's nice to meet you both, I'm Ms. Price. He'll be with you in a moment. You can take a seat along the wall if you'd like." Ms. Price was an alarmingly frail woman somewhere between 60 and 80 with a severe gray bun and monochromatic attire. She seemed to take her job very seriously, guarding the Headmaster's office like a griffin guarding treasure.

Krista and I had barely settled into the visitor chairs when Ms. Price's phone rang and she motioned for us to enter the Headmaster's sanctum.

Upon entering the office, all my preconceptions about Headmaster Brandt being an older, stuffy, professor type with elbow patches sewn into his tweed blazers flew from my mind. Brandt was in his forties, nearly 6 feet tall with a lean build and hair that was reminiscent of prince charming in The Little Mermaid. Actually even his features reminded me of Ariel's main squeeze.

"Hello Ms. Plum, Krista." Headmaster Hottie, I mean Brandt, Headmaster Brandt said, shaking each of our hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Headmaster." I replied, willing my body not to blush at my inappropriate inner monologue but relieved that it hadn't become my inappropriate outer monologue.

"So, I hear you'll be joining us starting next week."

"Yes, Krista will be starting kindergarten." Krista was completely quite during the exchange, her gaze never straying from her sequined ballet flats. "Krista, do you have any questions for Headmaster Brandt?"

"No."

"I hear you're moving from Boston, is that right? Headmaster Brandt asked.

"Yes sir"

"Well I know how hard it can be to leave your home and friends behind. But if you give us a chance, you'll really like it here," he continued.

"You promise?" Krista asked, timidly.

"Yes, and I always keep my promises."

She looked at him pointedly as if to gauge his trustworthiness. Finally she nodded and smiled back at him while I mouthed _thank you_.

"Well, there are just a few things I need to go over with you so you're prepared for school on Monday!"

Half an hour later I had a list of required school supplies, uniform regulations, a child counselor recommendation, a few volunteer ideas and well, a tiny bit of a crush. What it was a long, boring meeting and a girl's gotta have something to do to pass the time.

"So, after a quick PB&O at home and a nap, we can get started on things you need for school. Do you wanna get you're uniform first or the school supplies?" I asked Krista as I buckled her into her car seat and dropped a kiss onto her forehead.

"What's a PB&O? Mommy makes PB&J for me with the crusts cut off, because they're yucky."

"A PB&O is something awesome I invented, it's peanut butter and olives. But if you don't like it, I can make you a PB&J."

"With the crusts cut off?"

"Of course! The crusts are yucky afterall."

"Okay. I think we should do the uniform stuff then ice-cream then school supplies then pizza!" Wow, it's almost freakish how alike we are. Now if she only had an unhealthy obsession with stilettoes we could be twins.

"Sounds like a plan!"

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SP POV

After being thoroughly shopped out, which for a native Jersey girl was quite a feat, I was relieved to be walking towards Pino's for some much needed nourishment.

"So this is the place with the bestest pizza in town?" Krista asked incredulously. I guess I could see why she was skeptical. The edifice was lacking in allure, but that was just because the food was so good, it wouldn't matter if they were selling from a shack, although seating would be a nightmare if that were the case.

"Trust me, you'll love it here! Your mom, Aunt Mare, Aunt Becks and I used to come here when we were in college if one of us had a really bad day and needed to feel better."

"I trust you," Krista said, squeezing my hand as we walked into Pino's. The chatter stopped for the briefest of moments as everyone craned their necks to see us and attempt to deduce why I was with a young child. "Oh wow, it smells really yummy in here!"

"I know right! Okay, where do you wanna sit munchkin?"

Krista started weaving through Pino's to a table in the center-ish of the restaurant. We both sat on adjoining sides of the four-seater table adorned with a red and white checkered tablecloth.

"So, do you feel like pizza or a sandwich?" I asked.

"Pizza Pizza Pizza!"

Okay, so pizza it is. I had just finished ordering when another moment of silence descended upon Pino's. I looked up to see who else had been subjected to the Bombshell Bounty Hunter treatment to find my self staring across the room at Joe Morelli, my ex. Our eyes connected and I gave him a small smile. I guess this was the down-side to the amazing food at Pino's, you always ran into someone you knew I thought as Joe walked over to our table. He was wearing dark, well-worn jeans, an untucked light blue collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a very attractive 5 o'clock shadow.

"Hey cupcake, it's been a while." Joe greeted me, hands in his pockets and sporting his _I know I'm charming _smile.

"Hi Joe, this is Krista, my friend Veronica's daughter and my goddaughter. Krista, this is my friend Mr. Joe."

"Oh come one now Cupcake, I at least rate being called Uncle Joe," he said, winking at Krista. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked, sitting down on my other side across from Krista without waiting for my reply.

"Sure Joe, why don't you join us," I answered sarcastically.

"Mr. Uncle Joe, why come you call Aunt Stephie cupcake? That's a food, silly, not a name!" Krista said, causing a blush to creep into my cheeks.

"Well," Joe began, smirking deviously at me, "when we were in highschool I-".

"I worked at the Tasty Pastry Bakery and I sold him a bunch of cupcakes. We can go there tomorrow, okay?" I interjected.

"Okay!"

"As I recall I only had the pleasure of experiencing one cupcake at the time, but sure, we'll go with your abridged version of history." Joe murmured to me before addressing Krista, "So, Krista, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

"Aunt Stephie says it's the best pizza in town, so we're eating pizza." Krista answered, going back to the kiddie placemat she was coloring.

"Perfect" Joe replied just as the waitress brought us our pizza.

It was pretty surprising how copacetic mine and Joe's fledgling friendship was, especially after all the fights and yelling and back and forth between us. I think it was because now there were no expectations for the future and we could just enjoy each other's company. He'd never be wondering when I was going to grow up and get my June Cleaver on and I'd stopped wondering if he was keeping vital police information to himself while benefiting from my investigatory prowess. Of course the fact that I hadn't had any cars explode or been stalked since our break-up also helped maintain the halcyonic milieu in our friendship.

"So, I can't believe the rumors are true! Although I do have to admit, the whole corporate mom thing looks good on you, not that I'm surprised." Joe said, giving me a once over.

"Huh, this wasn't a surprise to you? Cause it sure surprised the he-heck out of me." I answered, biting into a heavenly slice of pizza.

"Well yeah, this right here is all very surreal. But the fact that this role looks good on you, I had that pegged."

Wow, the conversation was getting a little to heavy for me. "So, how are things going with that elementary teacher you were seeing?" I asked, executing the most awkward segue ever.

"Yeah that didn't quite work out, she hated the crazy hours I've been working. But, I have been seeing an ER nurse lately."

"Really? That's great! How'd you guys meet?"

"Poker night with the guys got a little out of hand and ended with my brother getting stitches and me getting a phone number!" He said, grabbing another slice.

"I would expect nothing less! I'm glad things are going well for you, and that we're making this friends thing work. I'd really hate to lose you from my life completely."

"Same here, I mean, it's weird going from what we were to friends, but I think we're doing a pretty decent job at it. Speaking of friends, how are things with Ranger?"

I take what I thought earlier back. That was the most awkward segue ever. As in ever ever. "Well, he's out of town right now, but things are good, I'm liking working at RangeMan and all the guys, Ranger included, have been great." Hopefully he wouldn't press the whole _what's going on romantically between you and the boss man_ issue, I mean, if I was going to discuss it with anyone, it should probably be with Ranger and should most definitely NOT be my ex. This was shaping up to be a very awkward meal. I looked jealously at Krista who was oblivious to everything but the delicious slice of pizza she was eating.

"Hmm... that's great" Joe replied after a pregnant pause, letting me know that he knew I was avoiding his real question but for whatever reason, he was letting me get away with it. "So, which one of your friends was Veronica? Was she the one who would rip guys' shirts off while dancing in clubs?*" Joe asked.

"Naw that was Becks, although she's since been reformed. Mostly. I used to hustle pool with Veronica though. When I met her, it was like we were instant best friends, you know? We just clicked."

"Mhmm. I'm sorry Cupcake. If you need to talk, I'm here, okay?"

"Okay. And thanks Joe, I really appreciate it."

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JM POV

Wow, Stephanie Michelle Plum as a mom and for once the Burg grapevine had under-exaggerated something. I never would've believed it if I hadn't seen it in person I thought as I drove home from Pino's. Of course she was great with her goddaughter, like a mom, older sister and best friend all rolled into one tight, blue-eyed package. Shit, the thought of Cupcake as a mom shouldn't really be having the effect it was having on me, especially while I needed to concentrate on driving.

I was happy that things were going well for Cupcake, in her career and personal life. I wanted to be happy for her, but, if I was being completely honest, a little part of me was hurt. Hurt that she couldn't be bothered to change for me but she was all over emulating Domestic Rockstar Barbie for her friend Veronica. I know that it's not the same and the situation with Krista is tragic, but a part of me feels hurt, like I wasn't important enough and a part of me hates that I feel hurt especially because of the shitty circumstances. Ugh!

I suppose it doesn't matter anymore anyways. I mean, we had some major issues as a couple, and neither one of us truly wanted to go back to that. So really what I needed to do was just get over myself and be there for her as a friend.

And as her friend, I think it's only fair that I get to be there when she explains to Ranger the recent changes in her life. It might shock him enough to have that damn blanck mask slip! I know that he and Steph had been getting closer since we broke up and she started working fulltime at RangeMan, even though she clearly didn't want to admit it at dinner. Wonder why? She probably just didn't want to hurt my feelings, things between Ranger and I had always been a bit prickly. I just hope he doesn't walk out on her when he finds out she comes with a mini plus one. If he does, between the guys at the TPD and Steph's Merry Men, he's going to be in a world of hurt. Hell, he might even have a mutiny on his hands!

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SP POV

"One more song? Please Aunt Stephie!" Krista pleaded, using an impressive combination of puppy dog eyes and pouting prowess.

"Oh alright, one more, but then its bedtime for both of us, deal?" I caved, naturally. If I didn't toughen up soon Krista was gonna get away with everything. Ugh, something to worry about later.

"Deal."

"Pinky promise?"

Krista nodded, linking her pinky with mine "Pinky promise."

"Okay, well let's turn the music up!" I exclaimed, turning up the volume on my iPod. After dinner and organizing all the loot we acquired on our shopping excursion, we decided to have a dance party in the living room. We were currently testing our moves out against _Walk Like an Egyptian_ by The Bangles. The 80s playlist had really come in handy tonight as it was a very dance-able decade, music-wise and, more importantly, used mostly g-rated language.

Twenty minutes later we were both snuggled into her bed for what I hoped would become part of our daily routine. "So, do you have a specific story you want me to tell you or can I pick? I asked Krista.

"Well, Mommy used to tell me about how she and Daddy met sometimes. Could you tell me that story? Please?"

"Well, munchkin, I can tell you a version of it, but it probably won't be the same as when your mom tells you. Is that okay?"

"That's okay I guess."

"Okay then. Let's see, once upon a time, in a magical land called Cambridge, there was a princess named Veronica. Now Princess Veronica was only visiting Cambridge for the summer because during her travels, she met a knight, Sir Cohen who helped spread cheer and merriment by sharing stories about fantasy and suspense and love. Sir Cohen was glad that Princess Veronica wanted to help him and they both spent their days working together."

Krista giggled at my story "I miss how Mommy would tell the story, but I really like how you tell it too Aunt Stephie!"

Huh, I guess V didn't fairy tale-ify the story when she told it. Something to remember for next time. "Anyways, part of what Sir Cohen and Princess Veronica would do to spread cheer and merriment by sharing stories is to have other people help share stories as well. They would go to bookstores in the Kingdom of Cambridge and give them copies of books to share. One day, Sir Cohen wasn't feeling well, so Princess Veronica went to meet with a bookstore owner on her own. Well, she was very nervous but excited to be working on her own. When she got to the store, she looked around for a while until she spotted the storeowner, a tall, handsome man with dark hair, dark eyes and a kind smile. Well, Princess Veronica went right up to him and told him all about the stories she wanted him to share and why he should share the stories that Sir Cohen and she had found. The man was completely silent during Princess Veronica's whole speech and when she was done, he told her how excited he was to read the stories she was talking about, but, he said, unfortunately he wasn't the storeowner but a customer. Well, Princess Veronica was embarrassed and a little angry that she had given her presentation to the wrong person and went off to find the real storeowner. However the customer was none other than Prince Dominic of Cambridge. He was very curious about Princess Veronica and the stories she had told him about so passionately. So th-"

"Aunt Stephie, what does pass'nately mean?" Krista asked, stifling a yawn.

"It means to be really excited about something."

"So in the story Mommy, I mean Princess Veronica was really excited when she was talking about the stories to the Prince?"

"Exactly! Ok, So then the Prince buys all of the stories Princess Veronica was talking about and read them over the next few days. Now, he really liked the Princess, especially how excited she was about stories, and he wanted to show her that he was also excited about them, so he bought copies of all of his favorite books, 6 in total and arranged them so they looked like a bouquet and had them sent to Princess Veronica with a note to meet him for dinner the next day at one of the fanciest ballrooms in the Kingdom of Cambridge. After going through the books Prince Dominic sent and talking to her fairy god friends, Becks, Mare and Steph"

"Hey that's you!"

"It sure is! Anyways, Princess Veronica decided to meet Prince Dominic for dinner where they fell in love while talking about their favorite books and dreams and they lived happily ever after."

"Wow, I think maybe I like your version the best!"

"Thanks munchkin! Alright now it's time to sleep."

"Mkay." Krista replied.

I sat in Krista's bed, stroking her back and watching her fall asleep. She was incredible, and I had been tasked with helping her to become the most incredible version of herself. No pressure I thought as I watched over my incredible goddaughter.

:::::::::::::::

ML POV

After listening to the third message I received saying that Steph and Krista had dinner with Joe Morelli looking very chummy, I knew I needed to get the truth. Could Steph be considering trying to make a go of it with Morelli? I hope not. I mean, on paper they seem perfect but after witnessing a few of their fights, it was obvious that it was just not meant to be. Besides, wasn't he dating a first grade teacher?

I figured Becks would also need to be in on this call, incase the rumors were true, to help me express my concern to Steph in a way that wouldn't immediately put her on the defensive. And well, I hadn't talked to Becks all day and while normally that wouldn't be strange, under the circumstances, I really wanted to hear her voice.

Becks picked up after two rings, "Hey Mare"

"Hey Becks, how's it going?"

"Oh you know, hanging in there. It's weird that life goes on even though someone so important to us is gone."

"Ya, it doesn't even seem real most of the time and then I remember that it is real and, well, I have to break out the Kleenex."

"I'm glad the three of us got to be together for each other and for Krista, even if it was just for a short time."

"Yeah… So listen, there's been some gossip that I was just bombarded with and well, I needed to call Steph but first I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Sounds scrumptiously scandalous, spill!" Becks demanded.

"Okay so apparently today Steph and Krista were spotted having a very cozy dinner with Joe Morelli."

"Morelli?"

"Yeah, Steph's ex," I clarified.

"Oh, the guy who she hit with Big Blue and then helped clear of murder charges. I don't buy it." Becks replied, matter of factly.

"So you don't think there's a chance she'd get back together with him? Even if she got overwhelmed by all the recent changes in her life?"

"Definitely not, aside from the fact that she knows breaking up with him was the right thing to do, I have it on good authority that she's not really all that available to be considering dating Morelli or anyone else for that matter."

"What do you know that I don't?" I demanded.

"Nothing really, just that, in the immortal words of Taylor Swift, they are never ever getting back together."

"Okay, so I just worked myself into a mini panic attack for no reason."

"Pretty much."

"Okay, then I won't call and beg her not to settle for Morelli."

"Maybe just give her a call tomorrow to come up with a plan to set everyone else straight and do some gossip damage control."

"Good plan. Thanks for talking this through with me."

"Anytime Mare."

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* So, my sister actually does the ripping guys shirts off in bars while dancing (apparently she's too impatient to just unbutton them) and while I've been with her when she's done this several times, I have never once heard a guy complain. There just hella flattered that such a fun, gorgeous person wants to hang out with them.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to everyone who's found the time to read this fanfic and to those of you who've reviewed.

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SP POV

Ten more reps I thought to myself as I finished up my hour-long workout in the very well equipped apartment gym. Yes, I, Stephanie Michelle Plum, chose to willingly exercise this morning without being bribed, coerced or threatened in any way. And after my six-day gym-cation, my body was protesting. I thought about sleeping in with Krista who once again found her way into my bed in the middle of the night but decided against it. Instead I was here and had left Krista with a walkie talkie to 'call' me if she needed anything.

I finished up, took the elevator down to the seventh floor and let myself into our apartment. I grabbed a class of coconut water and headed off in search of Krista. She had just woken up and was in her bathroom brushing her teeth wearing cute Hello Kitty patterned PJs and fuzzy purple slippers.

"Good morning munchkin. You didn't get scared or anything while I was gone, right?"

"Don't be silly Aunt Stephie, I'm a big kid now and big kids don't get scared!"

"That's true, but if you do, call me on the walkie talkie like I showed you and I'll be back in a flash, okay?"

"Mkay, now hurry and get ready while I do so we can go to Tasty Pastry like you promised yesterday!" she answered, resuming her brushing.

"Okay, I'll be super speedy!" I responded and went to get cleaned up.

Thirty minutes later we were seated at Tasty Pastry, completely sated. I went with my standard Boston Crème and Krista opted for a chocolate icing with sprinkles. "Oh wow, that was sooo yummy!" Krista said.

"Mhmm," I agreed. After licking our fingers clean, we headed back home. I had received a call from Child Protective Services to let me know that I would be receiving a home visit between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM. I swear they were worse than the cable company.

"So, what are we gonna do today Aunt Stephie?" Krista asked as we walked back into our apartment after our orgasmic breakfast.

"Well, we have to wait on an appointment for a few hours, but after that, I was thinking that we could go to the park across the street with Aunt Mare and her kids. You remember them, right, Mikey and Alex?"

"Ya, I 'member them. They came to visit us in Boston once."

"Okay, so while we wait on our appointment, how about we play a game? Why don't you go pick one out while I call Mr. Tank really quickly?"

"Okay!" Krista replied, barreling off to her room to grab a board game.

I headed to the living room, settled into the plush sofa cushions and dialed Tank.

"Hey little girl, everything okay?" he answered.

"As well as can be expected, how's everything going at RangeMan?"

"You know me, just kickin' ass and takin' names. Did you need something?"

"Yeah actually, so Krista's school doesn't start until this coming Monday, and I know Hector's gonna come by to set up my home office, but that won't be until Thursday, so I was wondering if it would be okay if I brought Krista in to work with me. I was gonna check with you first and then ask Ella if she could watch her during any meetings that I have scheduled." I rambled, hopeful that I wouldn't have to leave Krista with a babysitter, especially so soon.

"That sounds fine. All of the meetings you missed were pushed to Thursday, Friday and Monday, so you just have a ton of paperwork for tomorrow. And as long as Ella's cool with it, you can bring Krista in whenever you need to." Tank said, potentially exceeding his daily word quota.

"Thanks Tank! I'll see you tomorrow." I just managed to get out before he hung up on me. Figures. Next I called Ella while Krista and I set up Sorry on the coffee table.

"Stephanie, how are you?" Ella answered; I could almost feel the motherly warmth emanating through the speaker.

"We're doing okay, I had a favor to ask you though."

"Anything dear, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be able to keep an eye on Krista during any meetings I may have while Krista's not in school, oh and during my mandatory gun range time tomorrow. I'm hoping to have my schedule worked out so I can watch Krista, but the next few days might be a little tough and I really don't want to have to get a babysitter right now." I explained.

"Of course Stephanie, she and I can make cookies for the break room or something to pass the time. I'd love to help you out." Ella replied.

"Thank you so much Ella, you're a godsend!"

"Anytime dear. I'll see you both tomorrow! Goodbye."

"Bye."

Krista and I spent the next two and a half hours playing Sorry (at which I lost, twice), Battleship and Wii Mario Kart before sitting down for a lunch of BLT sandwiches, baby carrots and apple slices. We were just cleaning up when the apartment intercom buzzed.

"Hello, who is this" I said into the speaker.

"Hi, this is Gwen O'Brian from CPS. I'm here for our first meeting."

"Okay, I'll just buzz you up, we're in apartment 714." I said, pushing the button on the intercom panel to let her into the apartment building. I hurriedly cleaned up our lunch mess while Krista put the games back into her room. Not a second too soon I heard a knock on the door. Just be yourself, I told myself, just be yourself and everything will be fine.

I opened the door to find a kindly plump woman in her late thirties with auburn hair pulled back in a clip, librarian glasses and a tan suit. "Hello," she said, holding out her hand, "I'm Gwen".

"Stephanie, It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking her hand and letting her into the apartment. "Would you like something to drink?" I asked, my Burg manners kicking in.

"Some water would be great, thanks."

I handed her a glass of water, trying not to let my nervousness show. A lot was riding on her assessment, and neither Krista nor I could afford any mistakes. "So, how exactly does this work?"

"Well, this is the first of three meetings between us, I assess how you and Krista are getting along and if you're able to manage the demands of caring for a child in a responsible way."

"O-okay. That makes sense." I said as I spotted Krista walking into the living room. "Krista, this is Ms. O'Brian. She's here to check on us and make sure we're doing okay."

"Hi Ms. O'Brian," Krista said nervously, sidling up to me and holding my hand.

"It's nice to meet you Krista," Gwen said, "Do you think you could show me around your new apartment?"

"Okay. This is the kitchen," Krista said, motioning to the room we were in before heading toward the dining room. "And this is the dining room, where we eat."

"Mhmm," Gwen said, following Krista as she led us to the living room.

"And this is the living room. Me and Aunt Stephie had a dance party here last night!" Krista announced.

"That sounds fun. And I like all the pictures on the wall here." Gwen replied.

"It was a gift from Aunt Stephie's friends." Krista explained, then tugged me towards the hallway. "Here's my bathroom," she said, pointing towards the bathroom door, "and here's my room" she stated, leading us into her bedroom.

"Wow, I really like all the purple." Gwen said.

"Me too! Aunt Stephie let me pick the paint and stuff. I used to have a pink room, but I'm too grown up for that now." Krista explained. "And here are all my games and toys and stuff," she said, gesturing to her bookshelf. "Maybe we can play a game later?"

"That would be nice" Gwen replied. She was really great with Krista, and seemed not to be burnt out or uninterested in what was going on. I was glad that we'd gotten assigned someone who clearly cared about their job and didn't see it as a chore to be suffered through.

Next Krista led us to my bedroom, thankfully everything was in its proper place, it would be beyond embarrassing if my bed hadn't been made or my sweaty gym clothes had been strewn about. Thankfully the giant closet made me want to stay organized, yet another perk of this new apartment!

After the tour, Gwen indicated that she wanted to talk to me alone, so I had Krista lay down for a quick nap while Gwen and I settled into the living room to talk.

"Well, from what I can tell, you two seem to be doing really well so far," she said in a slightly surprised tone.

"It's been a major adjustment, but I am completely dedicated to Krista."

"Yes, I see that… It's just, well, this isn't what I expected is all." Gwen finally managed to blurt out.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I don't understand why that would be." I said, slightly offended that she came here expecting me to fail. Maybe in the past I wouldn't have been considered mother material, but I've changed a lot in the past month, and Krista is worth overhauling my life for in any way necessary.

"Yes well, when I was looking through your background check I realized you were _the _Bombshell Bounty Hunter."

"I understand how that would be disturbing, however I have made significant changes in my career and lifestyle over the past several weeks, and my life no longer contains the elements of unpredictability or danger it did during my tenure as Trenton's Bombshell Bounty Hunter. I'd be happy to provide you with the phone number of a supervisor if you'd like to corroborate this." I said in a slightly pithy tone.

"Well, I already have the contact information for your supervisor, but thank you. I'm sorry that the process is so invasive, but it needs to be." Gwen said, apologetically.

"I completely understand. I just want you to know that I love my goddaughter and there isn't anything I wouldn't do to make this work and help raise her to be someone that her parents would be proud of."

"I see that, within a week you've already moved apartments."

"I've also enrolled her at The Milano Academy and gotten the number for a child counselor for her to talk to about her parents."

"Wow, you're way ahead of the curve. It's just, well... our office received a call from concerned relatives that suggested you were out of your depth and would not be fit to serve as Krista's guardian" she finished, uncomfortably.

"Oh, that unfortunately makes complete sense. There are some family politics at play and, well, I'm trying to stay out of it and just focus on Krista." Now it made sense, V's family probably pulled some strings to make me look like an incompetent disaster. Luckily my case had been assigned to Gwen who seemed to be driven solely by doing what was in the Krista's best interest. I couldn't imagine what I'd do if she had been susceptible to intimidation or worse, bribery.

"Hmmm, well I'm sorry for that, and thank you for your patience."

"Absolutely. So, when will our second meeting be?"

"The second one will be in two weeks and we'll schedule the final meeting at that time." Gwen answered.

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ML POV

I had just arrived with my boys at the park across from Steph's new apartment when I saw her and Krista walking across the street towards us. Steph had Krista's hand in one of hers and her other hand was holding her phone to her ear which was likely the cause of her annoyed expression.

"… well thanks for calling Thomas, I really appreciate it and I know V would too. And I'm sorry for your loss, I know how close you two were, even after everything with your parents. Mhmm, take care. Bye"

I shot Steph a questioning look but decided to wait until after the children were occupied. "Hey boys, you remember Krista right?" I asked Mikey and Alex.

"Mhmm." "Hi Krista" Mikey and Alex said simultaneously.

"Hi Mikey, hi Alex," Krista said, still holding onto Steph's hand.

"Hey, why don't you guys check out the slide why Aunt Mare and I watch!" Steph said, causing all three kids to take off for the very elaborate jungle gym. "So, how're you holding up Mare?"

"As well as can be expected. But enough about me, what's going on with you? Dinner with Morelli last night and now V's brother's calling you? Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Well, dinner with Morelli was unintentional but surprisingly friendly, I think we've finally figured out how to be in each other's lives without half of our conversations being reduced to offensive Italian hand gestures and yelling. The call from Thomas, however, is cause for concern."

Thomas was the younger of V's two older brothers. He was a physician in Connecticut and the only member of V's family that kept in touch with her after her parent's disowned her for having the audacity to marry a non-Caucasian. I always thought Thomas was jealous of V's ability to do what she knew was right in her heart, even if it went against their parents' snobbish, racist wishes. "What was Thomas' call about?"

"Well, apparently, aside from calling in a tip about how unfit I am as a parent to the Child Protective Services, V's mother has also been conspiring with my mother to talk me into giving up custody of Krista!"

"What?! You're mom wouldn't go along with her plan, right? I mean, sure she's taking the news of you being instantly inducted into motherhood hard, but she's not crazy enough to think that V's parent's should be allowed to raise Krista, right?"

"Well, when I went over for dinner, Mom made it clear that she had no concern for Krista whatsoever. And, according to Thomas, my mother was ecstatic to chug V's mom's Kool-Aid. The two of them together is almost to disturbing to fathom." Steph finished, shivering.

"Yeah, it seems like if that much judgmental, negative energy were to be concentrated in one place it would implode. Which would actually work out for us…"

We both started giggling, imagining how exactly the implosion would look. "Sadly, I'm not thaaat lucky, but we can dream! So, you heard about dinner last night through the Burg grapevine?" Steph asked as we settled onto a cast iron bench with an elaborate curlicue design adorning the backrest.

"Yeah, well, you with a child has really thrown an abundance of grist into the Burg rumor-mill, but between Grandma Mazur, Connie and I, people seem to be accepting that you and Morelli aren't getting back together. As for the rest, you're just gonna have to let the busy bodies find something else to draw their attention."

"Thanks for setting the record straight on the Morelli front. Do you know how long it'll take for things to die down? I'm used to people staring at me when I go places, trying to see what crazy thing the Bombshell Bounty Hunter will do next, but that's not really the atmosphere I want Krista subjected to. Pino's last night was a little ridiculous. It's like the people think we we're there for their entertainment or something. Ugh!"

"Well, I'm sorry about the Burg busybody situation, but I have it on good authority that Joyce Barnhart is on her way to breaking up yet another marriage, so hopefully that'll take the spotlight off of you." Joyce Barnhart had been Stephanie's nemesis since third grade, which sounds overly dramatic for eight year olds, but there's just no other way to explain their animosity. Joyce was a heavyset bully then and had since transformed herself into a vampy, silicone filled trollop who seemed to think dating married men was an Olympic sport at which she was compelled to compete.

"Well, at least she's good for something!" Steph said. "Come on, let's sit go on the swings!"

The five of us enjoyed the park for another hour or so until Krista tripped while running, skinning her knee on the sidewalk. Before any of us had realized what had happened, Steph had run over to Krista and was carrying her to a park bench.

"Aunt Stephie! It hurts!" Krista wailed, her eyes tearing up.

"I know munchkin, but we're gonna fix you up, okay?" Steph responded, pulling a water bottle, some antiseptic wipes and bandaids out of her seemingly bottomless purse. "Okay, this might sting a little, but we have to wash the dirt out. Can you be brave for me?"

"O-okay" Krista said, her voice brittle. She held onto Steph's arm while Steph rinsed, wiped and bandaged her knee, only letting a couple of tears fall.

"Prepared much?" I asked her, smirking.

"Remnants from my illustrious career as a bounty hunter. I learned to always be prepared the hard way. You did great munchkin, you were sooo brave. Does it hurt a lot?" Steph asked, still cradling Krista's injured leg in her lap while wiping away Krista's tears with the pad of her thumb.

"It only hurts a little now. But you have to kiss it for it to get better."

"Huh?" Steph replied ever so eloquently, a confused expression on her face.

"You have to kiss the boo boo to make it better, it's what Mommy would do and it would always work." Krista explained tiredly.

"Of course, silly me, I forgot!" Steph said, arcing down to plant a loud smooch on Krista's bandaid. "How's that? Better?"

"Mhmm."

"Alright kids, how about we call it a day and head home?" Steph asked, scooping Krista up into her arms.

"Sounds good. Call me if you want my meatloaf recipe." I called after her, heading towards my mom-mobile with my boys in tow.

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical of V's decision to appoint Steph as Krista's guardian. I know Steph has a huge heart and never backs away from a challenge, not matter how daunting it may be, especially when it involves helping someone she cares about. But still, the way she fearlessly dove into being a single parent, it was an act of complete selflessness. And seeing her with Krista today, helping her with the monkey bars and taking care of her when she got hurt was eye-opening. I see it now, what V saw in Steph from the beginning, she is going to be am amazing mom to Krista. No one could ever replace V in Krista's life, but Steph will come damn close.

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SP POV

Krista and I spent a relaxing evening in. We made a Greek salad and spaghetti for dinner. (Yes, with store bought sauce, what? I'm only half Italian, and it was delicious.) I only had one small culinary mishap when I accidently set a paper-napkin on fire, but I was able to put it out without any substantial damage to either Krista or myself. Having to cook this was the downside to no one knowing where we lived. No could drop by with a sorry for your loss lasagna or bereavement brownies.

After dinner Krista settled in next to me on the sofa to read Seven Wonders of the World by Anna Othitis while I shot Robert Lawrence a quick email explaining V's family's efforts to complicate my guardianship status.

I was helping Krista sound out the word pyramids when my phone rang and Julie's name flashed on the display. Julie, Ranger's daughter, and I had a standing phone date every week since the Scrog incident per her psychologist's request. Personally I didn't see how talking to me could help her, but I really enjoyed our weekly conversations. Julie was a going to grow up to be quite the heartbreaker with her huge eyes, silky straight brown hair, café au lait coloring and the trademark 200-watt Manoso smile that she could deploy at will. She was also caring, surprisingly witty and a fighter through and through, just like her father.

"Hey Julie! Sorry I missed last week's call. What have you been up to?"

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Julie POV

I was bubbling with excitement for my weekly call with Steph. We had to miss the one last week because she had a family emergency. I finally convinced my Mom to consider letting me visit Ranger in Trenton for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Now all I had to do was get Ranger on board with the plan and Steph would definitely be able to help me with that.

"Hey Julie!," Steph's voice chirped through my cellphone. "Sorry I missed last week's call. What have you been up to?"

"Oh my gosh! I finally talked Mom into letting me visit Ranger for either this Thanksgiving or Christmas! Can you believe it?!"

"That's so exciting! So I guess after months of badgering, your mom finally caved?"

"Yup, I was like a dog with a bone. You'll help me convince Ranger to okay it, right? Mom said I need his permission too." I asked.

"Absolutely. I know he'd like to get a chance to spend some uninterrupted time with you." Steph answered.

"Thanks! You're the best Steph!"

"Anytime kiddo."

"So, speaking of visiting, when are you going to visit Miami? You'll love it here, the beach is gorgeous and there are tons of awesome food and shopping places."

"Wow, that does sound amazing. I think we could maybe make a trip out next summer-"

"We? As in you and Ranger? Together? I knew it! Did he finally ask you out?" I exclaimed. Finally, those two got together; everyone can tell that they belong together.

"Oh no, Julie, we're not… but I know that he'd love to visit you too. I guess I should fill you in on what's been going on in my life. Last week I missed our call because one of my best friends and her husband passed away."

"Oh I'm so sorry Steph."

"It's okay, I'm hanging in there. Anyway, they have a five year-old daughter, Krista, who they left in my custody. So she's the other part of the we that would be visiting Miami with me." Stephanie explained.

"Mhmm."

"Yeah, it's been tough but all my friends have been really supportive and a lot of help... Enough about me though, when does school start for you?"

"In two weeks… umm.. listen, I have to go Steph, I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, okay Julie. Bye."

"Bye." I answered, ending the call abruptly. I just didn't feel like talking to Steph anymore.

She'll probably get too busy with Krista to keep up with our weekly calls anyways. Which totally sucks because I liked talking to her, she would tell me stories about Ranger and her crazy life. She was like a really cool older sister who probably won't have time for me anymore…

I wonder if she and Ranger will keep on hanging out and if he'll be there for Krista like I sometimes wish he had been for me. I mean, I know he loves me, that was obvious from the Scrog mess, but it's not the same as being in someone's life on a daily basis.

Ugh, I hated feeling like this, especially when it was because of something so sad.

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SP POV

I helped get Krista ready for bed while pondering my truncated conversation with Julie. Something was off, and it seemed to be linked to Julie finding out about Krista. Hmm… I hope she isn't feeling displaced or perhaps even jealous. There's no reason too, Julie was an incredible girl and while the circumstances were far from desirable, I was really glad that I had gotten a chance to meet and get to know her. I'll have to call her tomorrow and make sure she knows how I feel.

"Aunt Stephie, what story are you gonna tell me tonight?" Krista's voice broke me out of my reverie.

"Hmm, let's see. How about a story with me and your mom in it?" I figured I could continue to fairy tale-ify some of my memories to make suitable bedtime stories for Krista. A fun little way to share my memories of her parents with her.

"Yeah!"

"Okay munchkin, once upon a time, an embarrassingly long time ago," I began, tucking her in and dropping a kiss on her forehead, "there was a magical potion that everyone wanted in the Kingdom of Douglass. People from all over the kingdom tried to compete for the potion because it would make whoever drank it invincible. Jousting wa-"

"What's jousting?" Krista interjected.

"It's a competition where two people on horses try to knock each other off with these large sticks called lances. Anyhow, jousting was the competition used to decide who was worthy of the potion. And after several weeks of competitions, only two teams remained. Sir McSnobby and Sir Chauviniston were one of the finalist teams and the second team was Princess Veronica and her friend Lady Stephanie."

"Oooh!"

"Because Sir McSnobby and Sir Chauviniston were bigger and stronger than Princess Veronica and Lady Stephanie, they were convinced that they could win the competition easily. What they didn't know was that Princess Veronica and Lady Stephanie were secretly very good at po-jousting. The princess and her friend practiced a lot and were very tricky. Sometimes they would start off doing badly so their opponent would get cocky an-"

"What's cocky Aunt Stephie?"

"Oh sorry Kris. Cocky is where someone thinks that they are really good at something and that no one is better. In this case, the two knights thought that they were sooo much better than the princess and her friend that they didn't try as hard as they should've, which is what Princess Veronica and Lady Stephanie expected. So towards the end of the competition, Princess Veronica and Lady Stephanie were trying their hardest and started winning, but by then it was too late for Sir McSnobby and Sir Chauviniston to catch up and win the competition."

"So Princess Mommy and you won the competition? Did you get the potion?"

Yeah, we got the potion alright, and the accompanying hangover. "Yup, we sure did. So, do you know what the moral of the story is?"

"Never get co-cocky?"

"Mhmm, and don't forget that girls can kick butt too!"

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AN: Sorry for the snippet of repeated conversation at the end there. I know it can be annoying but hopefully it was short enough to avoid that.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

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SP POV

Krista and I just barely made it out of the apartment on time Wednesday morning. Lucky for me, Krista was willing to help me pick out clothes, or we would've been running even later. Of course that was also why I was sporting a vibrant color block look today. I had on a plum silk button-up blouse with built-in tie at the Mandarin collar, red stovepipe slacks and hot pink 4inch pointy-toed stilettos. That's right, I was wearing three different 'girly' colors to work at RangeMan, the only remaining place on earth where black was the new black (obviously it's hot pink, obviously).

I was resisting the urge to speed while the DJ on the classic rock station droned on about the injustice of no formal charges being brought against Capello Housing regarding the recent fire that left 2 dead, 7 seriously injured, and close to 80 people homeless. I completely agreed with his sense of outrage, but I would much rather sing obnoxiously and car dance on my way to work, so I changed the station and only sped a little on the rest of the way to RangeMan.

After pulling into my parking spot near the elevator I helped Krista out of her car seat, grabbed my behemoth purse and Krista's backpack with some things to help her pass the time and headed into the elevator (what?- there was no way I was going to make it up five flights of stairs in stilettoes, I'd already gotten my workout for the day in thank you very much). I hit the button for the fifth floor and shot the security camera a quick smile.

We stepped off the elevator to find an impromptu welcoming committee of Merry Men and a chorus of "Hey Bombshells" waiting for us.

"H-hey Beautiful," Lester said, doing a double take when he noticed my attire. "You look… bright," he finished, giving me a quick hug.

"I picked Aunt Stephie's clothes Mr. Lester!" Krista announced from behind me, a note of pride clear in her voice.

"Well, you did a really great job Krista" Woody said.

"Mhmm, she did. I'm sure she'd love to help you guys also." I added, smirking at them.

"Um, we're good Bombshell. We've got the RangeMan uniform." Cal said.

"And you'd have to ask _real_ nice to get Ranger to even consider expanding the clothing palette to include gray." Lester said, winking at me lasciviously.

"Santos!" Tank bellowed, causing Lester to snap to attention, "get back to work everyone, you can hang out with Bomber later." He gave me a manly pat on the shoulder and headed back into his office.

I introduced Krista to the guys we passed on our way to my office. "So this is my office," I said as Krista skipped over to the window seat to enjoy the view. I placed her backpack next to her and helped her get out a Disney Princess coloring book and crayons. After relaxing in my comfy office chair for a moment I booted up my computer and started returning emails and phone calls.

By 11:30AM I'd returned a dozen calls to answer current customer questions, completed scheduling, approved time-cards and was starting to feel a little jittery from having been at my desk for so long without a break. The Merry Men had been stopping by every now and then to catch up and meet Krista, but I needed an actual break or my stomach would start protesting soon.

"Hey munchkin, do you wanna get some lunch?"

"Mkay," she replied. She had moved on from coloring to a puzzle a little while ago and was sitting amidst several pieces with a partially completed image of the Justice League on the floor.

"Let's go" I said, holding my hand out for hers. The two of us made it to the break room just as Ella was leaving.

"Ms. Ella!" Krista exclaimed.

"Krista! It's so nice to see you again." Ella replied.

"Thanks! You too. Aunt Stephie and I are just going to eat some lunch. Do you wanna come too?"

"Oh thank you dear but I've already eaten. But I could use a helper in a few hours."

"Oooh, I can help."

"Perfect! I was thinking we could bake some cookies for everyone."

"Yum! I love cookies! Can I help Aunt Stephie?" she asked, looking pleadingly up at me.

"Of course munchkin, how about after your nap?"

"Mkay."

"Sounds great. Now you ladies enjoy your lunch." Ella said, giving each of us a quick hug before heading toward the elevator with now empty her cart.

I grabbed us some sandwiches, apples and water and we sat down at one of the break room tables with Bobby. "Hey Bobby, this is Krista, Krista, this is Mr. Bobby."

"Hi Mr. Bobby," Krista said before biting into her sandwich. "Mmmm, Aunt Stephie this is yummy!"

"Mhmm, Aunt Ella made it."

"So Krista, what have you been doing today?" Bobby asked.

"Coloring and doing a puzzle. But I'm gonna help Ms. Ella make cookies for everyone after my nap!" she announced.

"Awesome! Ella's cookies are the best." Bobby replied, surreptitiously checking the display on his phone for the third time since we'd entered the break room.

"So, expecting a call?" I asked.

"Hmm? What – no. I was just checking the time."

"Oh really? 'Cause I figured you were checking to see if you maybe had a text or call from your new girlfriend." I replied nonchalantly. Rumor around the office was that Bobby was smitten and this seemed like a good time to get the truth.

"I swear this place is worse that the Burg about gossiping." Bobby muttered. "We've only been out a few times, I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal out of it."

"Hey! I'm only asking because I care and want you to be happy." I exclaimed with mock outrage.

"That and you're buzzing with curiosity."

"Well, yeah. But mostly it's the caring and happy for you thing. So, tell me about her."

"We met a few weeks ago when Hal had to get stitches and his shoulder set. She's a pediatrician at St. Francis." Bobby said, blushing slightly (or as close to blushing as someone with Bobby's dark chocolate complexion could get).

"Oh my gosh! You like her. You really _really_ like her!" I gushed.

"We've only been dating for a few weeks Bombshell, I need more time to decide all that."

"Mhmm, sure you do" I retorted smugly.

"Mr. Bobby, you're dating someone? Are you sure you're old enough to date?"

"Um yeah Krista, I am, why?" He asked.

"Well, Aunt Stephie said that if you're not old enough then you get cooties! And I don't want you to give anyone cooties!"

Perfect. I could tell from Bobby's amused expression that I wouldn't be living this down for quite some time. "Come on munchkin, I think it's time for your nap." I said, ushering her back to my office.

:::::::::::::::

I slumped back into my chair after my mandatory weekly date with Ram on the gun range. Even though I regularly carried my gun with me as per the RangeMan guidelines, I still wasn't a fan of guns. However, with the regular practice, my aim had improved vastly and I was especially gifted at shooting the crotch off of paper men. What can I say, I aim to maim!

I started reading over some client contract that were up for renewal soon while idly twirling my pen. There was this spin thing some of the guys did with their pens during boring meetings to help pass the time and I was determined to add it to my repertoire of tricks to help me get through meetings. I was still trying to work out the pen spin when Lester decided to stop by my office for a visit.

"So, where's Krista?" he asked, resting against my desk.

"Off with Ella, they're making cookies for the break room I think."

"Oh awesome!" he replied, to which I nodded my agreement. "So, whatcha doing with your pen there Beautiful?"

"You know that pen twirl thing you do in meetings, I was trying to figure it out but I'm having no luck" I said, accidently launching the pen across my office.

Lester retrieved my pen but didn't return it. "So is there a reason you're throwing your pen around?"

"Well, I figured it would be a good way to keep from getting too bored during meetings," I admitted, sheepishly.

"Ahh.. I see. Well, I actually have a trick I use to help meetings pass by quicker, but umm, never mind." Lester said, handing the pen back.

"Wait, tell me what your trick is!"

"Well, it's a lot harder to do than the pen thing. I'm not sure you'll be able to figure it out," he said matter of factly.

"That's crap, I'll totally be able to do it!" I protested.

"Okay", he shrugged, taking my pen back.

I proceeded to stare raptly at his hand. After a few moments of nothing, I started shifting my gaze towards his face, however I was distracted on my way there. Lester Santos, resident RangeMan lothario extraordinaire was doing that man peck flex thing where they alternate flexing the left then right peck repeatedly. I couldn't help it, I burst out into hysterical laughter. *

"Nice moves, Sir Works-Out-A-Lot!" I managed to squeeze out between bouts of giggles.

"No need to be jealous Beautiful, I'd be more than happy to help you workout to reach my level of physical perfection!" Lester replied, finally stopping the flexing.

I could imagine how he would help me work out and decided to decline his generous offer. "No thanks Lester."

"Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind." Lester said, getting up to leave, sporting a self-satisfied smirk. When he got to my office door he was met by Ella and Krista carrying chocolate chip and oatmeal raison cookies.

"Mr. Lester here are your cookies!" Krista said, handing him a few cookies bundled in a napkin. "Ms. Ella and I wented to your office to give you them but you weren't there. And here are yours Aunt Stephie!" I too was presented a handful of cookies.

"Wow, these smell delicious. Did you deliver cookies to everybody?" I asked.

"Mhmm" Krista replied.

"She wanted to deliver all of the cookies personally to make sure no one got left out." Ella explained.

"Well thanks you two, these cookies are perfect." Lester said, giving Krista a high five and heading back to his office.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

The rest of the day passed quickly by amidst paperwork and cookies and by 6:00PM Krista and I were in my M3 which was pointed towards Sognare clothing boutique, the major account I had landed before going to Boston. I usually checked in with new clients once their new RangeMan security system were installed, but I had never been more excited to stop by a client's place.

Sognare was an exclusive clothing boutique that sold one-of-a-kind items and had even designed formal wear for many celebrities. They had four locations, and the Newark location that RangeMan had been hired to do security at was the first location and where the owners spent most of their time.

"So Krista," I said as we walked towards Sognare, hand in hand, "we're just going to talk to the people who own this store and then we'll get some dinner and head home, okay?

"Okay." Krista replied as we walked in, a little chime announcing our arrival.

The boutique was impressive. There were a handful of mannequins modeling truly breathtaking gowns while the remaining dresses were hung along the left and right walls. Toward the back of the room were two 6-in high circular platforms each with their own 3 panel folding gilt mirror for customers to admire the items they tried on. The floor was a white marble speckled with pale blue and gray striations, the walls were a white color with a whisper of aqua and the customer seating poufs had aqua upholstery with gilt legs. The entire boutique screamed luxury so vociferously that it took my breath away for a moment.

"Wow," Krista whispered, looking around in awe. "Where are we?"

"We're at a very special dress store."

"Hmm." Krista said, continuing to drink in her surroundings.

"Ciao Gianna" I greeted one half of the dynamic duo that owned Sognare. Gianna handled the business side of things whereas her sister imagined up all of the designs. "The boutique is breathtaking."

"Ciao Stephanie. It should be breathtaking, it is our flagship location after all!" Gianna replied.

"Well it is incredible. This is Krista, Krista, this is Ms. Gianna, she and her sister Caterina own this boutique."

"Hello Ms. Gianna. These dresses are really pretty, like for a fairy princess!"

"Well thank you. Would you like a tour?"

"Mhmm" "Yes please" Krista and I answered simultaneously.

"Come this way," GIanna directed with a lilting giggle.

After walking past some of the most amazingly beautiful dresses I've ever seen we arrived at the back office where Caterina was busy sketching a new design. "Hi Caterina, everything looks incredible."

"Ciao Stephanie, and who might you be? Caterina asked Krista.

"I'm Krista, it's nice to meet you."

"You too," Caterina replied, smiling adoringly at her.

"What you two have created is art, there's no other way to describe it. The pieces are all sophisticated and timeless" I gushed, unable to hold my excitement and awe in any longer.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it." Caterina answered. "That's exactly how I feel about my designs, that they are individual works of art, each with their own message and story."

"So, what brings you here, besides the fashion of course." Gianna asked.

"I wanted to check in and see how the new security system was working out for you and to answer any questions you might have."

"Everything's been wonderful, and we don't have any questions right now."

"Wonderful, and you have my card, incase you think of something later, right?

"Yes we do, thank you for coming all the way out here just to check on us."

"Oh, trust me, it's my pleasure. I'm using work as an excuse to come here."

"Well, we're happy to be your excuse anytime" Caterina replied. "So Krista, did you like the dresses too?"

"Mhmm, especially the ones that look like they are for ballerinas. I'm gonna be a ballerina when I grow up!"

"A ballerina!" Caterina exclaimed, "how exciting!"

Just then the door chime sounded throughout the store. "Oh that's for me!" Gianna said, heading out to greet the customer.

"So, I read in Vogue that you and Gianna were in high demand for the Oscars this past year!"

"We have been getting increasingly popular, which is how we've been able to expand consistently over the past few years."

"Mhmm. Well I was wondering, who you would like to design for? Not a celebrity per say, just someone that you really admire." I asked, curious as to whom a designer of her caliber would be flattered to dress.

"Hmm, that's a good question, mostly people just want to know which celebrities have shopped here."

"Well, I mean that's definitely very impressive, but I'm more curious about you." I replied sincerely.

"I would be honored to design for Oprah Winfrey, I think she's such a genuine, captivating individual. And I'd love to design something especially for her, to enhance her natural beauty."

"I bet she has the best stories. She's interviewed so many interesting, influential people."

"Mhmm."

A few minutes later, I was securing Krista back into her car-seat. "Alright munchkin, what do you feel like for dinner?"

"Chinese!"

"Sounds great! Let's roll."

:::::::::::::::

After dinner and an impromptu dance party, Krista was tired and ready for bed. I told her an actual fairy tale and tucked her in before helping myself to a beer and settling into bed with the Rosetta Stone Spanish cds I checked out from RangeMan earlier. Dom and V wanted Krista to be able to speak Spanish, and I was determined to be able to help with it. Plus it would also come in handy at work where most of the guys were at least bilingual.

I decided to call Julie first to reinforce how important she was to me despite any changes in my life. I'd been thinking about our conversation from yesterday since last night and I knew I had to do something to make things better between us. After 2 rings, I heard her chipper voice through my cell speaker. "Hi! This is Julie, I'm not able to answer the phone right now, but if you leave a message, I'll call you back."

Oh well, I thought, a message is better than nothing. "Hey Julie! It's Steph. I was just calling to see if you were okay after our short call yesterday. I also wanted to make sure you knew how important you are to me, always. We have a bond that was forged in fire and no matter what happens, you'll always have a special place in my heart. You're an amazing person, and I hope to always have you in my life. Take care Julie. I'll talk to you soon." Hopefully she'll listen to the message and our weekly calls will continue.

It's crazy how much my life seems to have changed over the past week. I've been trying to eat healthier, cooking (if the term was applied generously), playing board games in my free time and a myriad of other small things that basically amount to me being an adult, in the true sense and not just because of the numbers of birthday s I have under my belt. What's even more surprising is that I am completely comfortable with the changes, even when I had to cancel on girls' night tonight. It's surreal that another person depends on me all of the time now because for so long I only had to watch out for myself. But the most surprising thing is that it's beginning to feel natural to look out for Krista and factor her into my life or rather factor my life around her needs. Curious, I thought as I started up the first lesson on the Rosetta Stone disk.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

The rest of the workweek went by in a blur. With the help of Ella and an occasional Merry Man, I'd been able to juggle work and being there for Krista. Hector had also hooked up my home office which was a godsend. I could work from home and shift my work hours around so I could spend more time with Krista. And things would be easier when Krista started school next week. By Friday, Krista and I had definitely found a rhythm for our lives.

Another change effected by Friday was that all of the Merry Men had gone from Mr. to Uncle for Krista, so despite the state-of-the-art home office, I'd still be bringing her in every so often because she would undoubtedly want to see her Uncles. Her big manly man Uncles who were trained to withstand torture and equipped to topple dictatorships in 3rd world countries but were helpless when faced with her big hazel eyes and pout.

The Merry Men proved to be an excellent support system, especially when coupled with my friends and Dom's family, all of whom diligently called to check on both Krista and me and offer support.

The most exciting thing to happen this week (aside from Lesters peck flex thing) was the package I received Friday morning from Sognare. I tore into it to discover two tickets for a matinee showing of Cinderella at the New York City Ballet in a next Saturday. I called Gianna and Caterina to thank them but return the tickets as it was far too generous a gift. They insisted that I keep the tickets as a thank you for taking the time to check up on things in person. They also wouldn't let me return the tickets because my daughter would appreciate it. I had acquiesced and hung up before I realized that they'd referred to Krista as my daughter. I was surprised to say the least. Well, I was surprised and something else that I couldn't quite identify. Flattered, perhaps? Krista was ecstatic about the ballet tickets and was counting down the days.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

Our Saturday was jam-packed. After sleeping in and having brunch with Mare, Lenny and their kids, we went to the park for a few hours. After that, Krista and I went to a Farmers Market to stock up on groceries for the week. Then the two of us braved the perils of the kitchen and managed to put together a surprisingly edible meal of roasted chicken, asparagus, mashed potatoes, biscuits and the piece de resistance, tiramisu cupcakes.

After telling Krista an abridged version of Ranger un-cuffing me from my shower curtain and tucking her into bed I decided to take a quick bath in my killer jacuzzi while continuing the Rosetta Stone Spanish curriculum. After learning to requisite vocabulary to order food (hey, a girl's gotta have priorities), I got out of the tub and tossed on a pair of bikini style panties and a VS sleep tee. I was looking forward to a good night's rest and sleeping in as I crawled into bed.

Unfortunately for me, fate was not on the same page.

I was sitting on the beach, trying to build a sandcastle, but someone kept pouring water on it and ruining it. I yelled for the person to stop and instead of talking back, he just kept making a shrill beeping sound. What was that sound? It seemed oddly familiar somehow… And instantly I was transported from the beach to my apartment where the alarm had been set off!

:::::::::::::::

* AN: So the man peck flex thing is a true story (or at least the first half of one). I was at work one day and one of the guys I work for/with did this, more or less exactly how it was written. Men are ridiculous sometimes, but hey, it made me laugh and hopefully all of you too!


	11. Chapter 11

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

I included the end of the previous chapter incase anyone forgot what was going on.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

After telling Krista an abridged version of Ranger un-cuffing me from my shower curtain and tucking her in I decided to take a quick bath while continuing the Rosetta Stone Spanish curriculum. After learning to requisite vocabulary to be able to order food (hey, a girl's gotta have priorities), I got out of the tub and tossed on a pair of bikini style panties and a VS sleep tee. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep and sleeping in as I crawled into bed.

Unfortunately, fate was not on the same page.

I was sitting on the beach, trying to build a sandcastle, but someone kept pouring water on it and ruining it. I started yelling at the person to stop, and instead of talking back, he just kept making a shrill beeping sound. What was that sound? It seemed familiar somehow… And instantly I was transported from my beach dream to my apartment where the alarm had been set off!

I immediately jumped out of bed, grabbed my stun gun baton (another of Hector's creations), called the control room and hurried off to check on Krista. By the time the phone was answered I was at Krista's door and had confirmed that she was safe and miraculously still sleeping.

"RangeMan control room, this is Zip, how can I help you?"

"Zip," I whispered, slowly inching my way towards the living room, "this is Steph. Someone tripped my alarm, I'm trying to see-" I started to explain when the alarm abruptly shut off. There was only one person I could think of who could and would break into my RangeMan secured apartment and disengage the alarm in the middle of the night. And he was expected back to town anytime now.

Ranger.

"Never mind Zip, it was a false alarm. Goodnight." I whispered and hung up while I continued to the living room. The tingle at the nape of my neck confirmed my suspicion that Ranger was indeed my B&E culprit. While this was a relief, it did nothing to slow my racing heartbeat.

I found Ranger standing at the boundary between the kitchen and the living room, taking in my new apartment for a few moments before his gaze settled on me. He looked a bit haggard, but still devastatingly handsome with his mocha colored skin, silky hair cut short, a few days of facial scruff and continually assessing chocolate eyes that darkened while he gave me a once over. He was dressed in his customary black cargo pants and black RangeMan shirt stretched taught over his muscles.

An almost smile graced his features as he greeted me, "Babe."

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

It had been three long weeks since I'd left Trenton to go in the wind. The operation I'd been called in to lead was a fairly straightforward intel gathering mission, but I was still relieved it was over. I'd barely managed 3-4 hours a sleep a night since it started and I was looking forward to taking the remainder of the weekend off to catch up on sleep. Well to catch up on sleep with my Babe, in every sense of the word I thought as I exited the private plane and angled into my Turbo that had been left in the private airstrip hangar.

Caught up in my memories of the two weeks I spent with Steph before having to go into the wind, I almost missed the turn off of Hamilton into Steph's apartment parking lot. I rushed inside, bounded up the stairs and slipped inside of her apartment only to find it empty. Completely devoid of her warm presence. What had happened while I'd been away? I was fairly confident that she hadn't gone back to Morelli, especially after their last break-up. There had to be some explanation. Hopefully it wasn't that another crazy was after her, although having her on 7 with me would be a welcome surprise.

I called up the control room to get a location on Steph as I returned to the Turbo. "RangeMan control room, this is Zip, how can I help you?"

"Report" I barked into the phone.

"There have been no break-ins or alarms tonight. Since you left we've only had a couple amateur B&E attempts and a few minor injuries, all of which were easily addressed, sir." Zip explained succinctly.

"Stephanie"

"No crazies or stalkers since you've been gone."

"Location" I demanded.

"She moved recently to The Gables Apartment building, apartment 714. Anything else sir?"

Hmm, Babe had finally moved. And to an apartment building RangeMan had a contract with. "Morelli?"

"Morelli and Bombshell seem to be friends. The cop's been dating several women lately, none of whom are Bombshell."

Once I'd confirmed that Morelli was still no longer in the picture, I ended the call and pointed the Turbo toward The Gables. Fifteen minutes later I was picking the lock to Babe's new apartment only to be greeted by an obnoxious beeping noise. Shit, the alarm. I quickly silenced the offending noise by entering this month's override code.

I couldn't believe how well this place suited Babe as I walked through the apartment, taking in the lived in clutter, personal touches and warmth that was so uniquely Babe. Her old apartment had been more perfunctory than personal, a place to sleep and store her things. This place had a homier feel with the colored walls, pictures and non-thrift store furniture. I walked from the foyer to the kitchen with its chrome appliances and granite countertops and stopped at the edge of the living room. The room had huge windows which were currently covered in layered gauzy curtains in shades of gray giving the room a soft almost romantic feel. My focus went straight to the wall behind one of the sofas that was covered in pictures of Steph and the people in her life. There was one in particular my gaze sought out of us in the alley next to the bonds office where I had stolen so many kisses. Seeing proof of our friendship so boldly acknowledged by Steph stopped my exploration of her apartment.

A few moments later I was freed from my reverie by a tingle in my spine that always alerted me to Babe's presence. Looking towards the left of the living room, I saw Steph inching into the room, baton taser in one hand, cell phone clutched in the other. I felt my heartbeat hasten as I drank in the sight of her in. She had slightly mussed hair and was wearing a long t-shirt that ended about half a foot below her waist, leaving her long legs deliciously bare.

"Babe" I said, striding towards her and pulling her into a hug.

"Hi," she said back, her voice muffled by my chest. I felt her stiffen slightly as my hands roamed her back. Before I could ask her about it we were interrupted by her phone ringing.

She pulled out of my arms and answered the phone before I could protest, "Hello… No everything's fine, it was a false alarm… Yes I know RangeMan security system's don't do false alarms… Everything's fine Big Guy, I promise… It's really not-… It-ugh-yes, it's Ranger… I can handle it on my own… Fine."

"It's Tank," Steph said, handing me the phone, slightly disgruntled, "he want's to talk to you."

"Tank?" I said, answering the phone.

"Hey Ranger, so I guess you're back?"

"Obviously, is there something you needed?"

"Yeah actually, and I'm hurt that you wouldn't come to see me first, especially since I left you a note in the Turbo to talk to me before doing anything, including visiting Bomber."

"Is there something you needed to say?"

"Yeah, I needed to give you a heads up about the changes in Bomber's life since you've been gone."

"I called the control room and got the report, which is why I'm standing in her new place right now."

"It's not just that, there's more…" Tank said.

"Explain" I barked, getting annoyed that Tank was wasting my time. Time I could be spending getting reacquainted with Steph.

"Well, a week after you left-" Tank began.

"Shhh!" Steph whisper shouted at me, "you'll wake Chris!"

What the fuck?! Who was this Chris fucker? I was gone for three measly weeks and she had some guy spending the night. Some guy who was going to be in traction in the very near future. I hung up on Tank to focus on Steph who had a slightly anxious expression adorning her face.

"Who the hell is Chris?" I demanded, my voice deadly calm and my blank face firmly in place.

Before Steph had a chance to explain, a small voice came from the hallway just off of the living room. "Ooh, he said a bad word. Is he gonna be in time out now?" a little girl with big hazel eyes, long brown hair and pink pajamas covered with hearts said, peeking out from the hallway.

"I wish" Babe mutter under her breath. She walked over to the little girl and scooped her up into her arms. "Sorry for waking you munchkin. This is my friend and boss, Mr. Ranger. Ranger, this is my goddaughter, Krista." Steph explained.

Oh shit, she said Krista earlier and I just heard Chris, I thought, berating myself for jumping to conclusions.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Ranger. Do you work with Uncle Tank and Uncle Lester and Uncle Bobby too?" Krista asked

"Yes, I do." I answered.

"Ranger, I'm just gonna tuck Krista back into bed and I'll be right out." Babe explained before heading down the hallway with Krista. "So munchkin, do you want to sleep in your bed or with me?"

"With you Aunt Stephie." Krista said, stifling a yawn.

My curiosity at this new facet of Steph pulled me after them down the hallway towards Babe's room. I hadn't ever really pictured Steph in a nurturing role before, well aside from a few naughty nurse dreams. I'd never really considered her as a mother because she'd always seemed so vehemently opposed to having kids.

I leaned against the doorway watching intently as Steph tucked Krista into the un-rumpled side of the bed and placed a kiss on her temple. She had just started to walk away when Krista called her back.

"Wait, Aunt Stephie! You have to tell me a story."

"Of course, how could I forget! Ranger, you can wait in the living room, just make your self comfortable and I'll be out in a few." Steph said before sitting on the bed and returning her attention to Krista, "So, which story do you want to hear?"

"Will you tell me the one you told me tonight? About the knight saving you from the evil wizard?"

"Of course you want the only story I've told so far featuring Ranger as the gallant knight," Babe mumbled under her breath before starting the story. "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a woman named Stephanie. Now Lady Stephanie had always dreamed of being Wonder Woman and helping to fight crime and put bad guys in jail. So when Lady Stephanie grew up, she got a job catching people who escaped prison. The first person she was assigned to capture was an evil wizard who was very sneaky and dangerous. But Lady Stephanie was very craft and came up with a plan to capture him. She asked her friend, Sir Carlos to help her steal the evil wizard's stallion."

What? Babe had turned her skip disasters into bedtime stories? And cast me as a knight? And here I was worried she'd moved on! I listened attentively as Babe wove a magical tale about going after Morelli, her first FTA.

"So Lady Stephanie rode around on the evil wizard's stallion all day to make sure that he knew she had it. That night Lady Stephanie locked the stallion up and waited for the evil wizard to try to come and take it back. Unfortunately, the evil wizard surprised Lady Stephanie and used a magic spell on her to keep her trapped in her bathroom. It was like there was an invisible door keeping her in. Then he tried to get her to say where she put the key to unlock his stallion, but she refused to tell him, so he left, leaving her trapped in the bathroom."

"Oooh," Krista said, clearly as riveted by the story as I was. "what happened next?"

"Well, Lady Stephanie really needed to find a way to escape the bathroom, but she needed someone's help to do it. So she sent a message to Sir Carlos asking him for help."

I loved the way my name rolled off her tongue. It reminded me of the only other time she'd used it, when she had been in my bed, sweaty and well on her way to being fully sated.

"Sir Carlos rushed over to help break the evil wizard's spell that was trapping Lady Stephanie in the bathroom. Unfortunately it was a very powerful spell and nothing they did worked. So do you remember how they broke the spell?"

"Mhmm, a kiss!" Krista exclaimed proudly.

"No silly, I just told you this story and you forgot already?" Steph said, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"Uh huh! A magic kiss _always_ breaks an evil spell. It's the rules Aunt Stephie!" Krista asserted.

"Okay, fine then. So Sir Carlos broke the evil wizard's magic spell with a magic kiss. Then Lady Stephanie decided she needed to set a trap for the evil wizard to capture him once and for all. So she rode his stallion into town and left it in a barn and pretended to go to the market while keeping a lookout for the evil wizard. After a few hours, when the evil wizard was certain that it wasn't a trap, he went into the barn to get his horse. Once he was inside, Lady Stephanie locked the door and captured him. The End!"

"Wait, what about Sir Carlos?" Krista asked.

"What about him?" Steph asked, puzzled.

"Don't he and Lady Stephanie live happily ever after?"

"Oh right, they stay friends and live happily ever after, the end." Steph finished, dropping a kiss on Krista's forehead. "Now you need to get some sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Good night Aunt Stephie."

"Sweet dreams munchkin," Babe replied, closing the door softly behind us and motioning for me to follow her back to the living room. "I'm gonna grab a bottle of water, do you want anything?"

"Water would be great, thanks Babe." I said, settling down on one of the charcoal, plush sofas, admiring the view of Babe's legs as she grabbed two bottles of water from the kitchen. She handed me a bottle of water and settled in at the opposite end of the same sofa as me, facing me with one leg tucked underneath herself. "So Babe, Morelli's an evil wizard and I'm your knight in standard-issue body armor?" I asked, a small smile playing on my lips.

Steph rolled her eyes in response. "Well, I figured I's use some real-life events for bedtime story inspiration to avoid telling her the same exhausted princess stories over and over," she explained matter-of-factly. "Did you just get back?"

"A couple of hours ago. I went to your place on Hamilton first. Nice new digs by the way, it suits you."

"Thanks, it was a group effort."

There was an awkward silenced that stretched out between us, each of us waiting for the other to begin the inevitable conversation.

"So, I guess I should update you on what's been going on in my life since you've been gone." Steph finally said. After a nod from me she continued. "About a week after you left, Veronica, one of my best friends, and her husband passed away in a car accident."

"I'm so sorry Babe," I replied, pulling her into my lap, hugging her and wishing I could do something to wipe the look of grief from her face. I loosened my grip on her and wiped away the lone tear that had escaped with the pad of my thumb.

"Thanks Ranger, there's been so much going on for the past couple of weeks, that every now and then it just hits me again that they're really gone." She said, sniffling.

"So, I'm assuming Krista is their daughter?" I asked.

"Mhmm, she's an incredible kid. The other big change in my life has to do with her. Well, technically she's the reason I moved apartments in the first place. V, that's what I call-called Veronica, and her husband gave me guardianship of Krista in their will."

Whoa. My Babe was a mom. And like every other challenge I've seen her faced with, she's jumped in head first and managed to land on her feet. I could tell she loved her goddaughter and, was determined to make Krista a priority in her life, as was evident by the new apartment. Babe's friends were lucky she was such an amazing, giving woman.

I pulled her back in for another hug and whispered "Proud of you Babe" into her neck. I had missed this, the feel of Steph in my arms, her curves pushed up against my hard muscle and her smooth, alabaster skin begging to be touched. It had been three long weeks since I'd been with her and my body was yearning for her. I moved the hand that was at her waist down to the hem of her sleep shirt and began inching it up while placing a light kiss on the side of her neck.

As if scalded by my kiss, she escaped my arms for the safety of the opposite end of the sofa, smoothing her shirt down to cover as much of her legs as was possible. I schooled my shocked expression into one of curiosity, replete with a raised eyebrow and waited for an explanation.

"So… things have changed." Steph finally began.

After a few moments of silence from both of us Steph continued her explanation while fiddling with the tassels on the end of the teal patterned throw pillow she had pulled into her lap. "I've thought a lot about our dalliance while you were in the wind, and within that first week of you being gone I realized that I want… well, I want more," she finally managed to get out.

"Why? Everything was great before I left." I questioned curtly.

"Before was what you wanted. And while the friends with benefits arrangement we had was fun, it isn't enough. You already know I'm not the casual sex kind of girl, I can't sustain it long-term because I can't isolate the sex from my feelings, especially when it comes to someone I consider a close friend." Babe explained, her gaze firmly focused on mine so I could read the conviction in her beautiful eyes. "And that's before Krista came into the picture. Having her has made me take a closer look at my life and opened my eyes as to what I really want and the type of person I want to be."

"Explain," I commanded, my tone still clipped. I hated hearing from my Babe that what we had wasn't good enough. That what I had to give wasn't good enough. How could so much have changed in such little time?

"Well, like I said, a casual sex arrangement won't work for me, especially one with you." Babe reiterated and continued on nervously "I want more than empty casual sex and I keep thinking back on the DeChooch deal. I want to be better than that, to demand better. Especially as an example for Krista. I want to be justifiably upset if Krista ever considers something like the DeChooch deal." Babe explained, her eyes never straying from the pillow in her lap.

"You chose to accept the deal," I said, my voice simmering with anger, "no one forced you. There were several other people you could have called for help. Morelli, Gazarra, hell half the TPD would've helped you if you'd asked. Instead you called me, knowing the price. You knew _exactly_ what you were doing when you chose me to help you." I spat out, annoyed that she was trying to blame me for that situation and annoyed at myself for being such an opportunistic bastard. I had wanted her anyway I could have her and the DeChooch situation afforded me a perfect quid pro quo set-up.

"I agree, I wanted to pay the price for your help. If I had it to do over I'd make the same choice." Steph assuaged, a slight blush tinting her face. "But it's not the example I want to set for Krista. And neither is a friends with benefits arrangement. I'm at a point in my life where I want all the facets of a relationship to be satisfied, not just the physical ones." Babe reached forward and cradled one of my hands in hers, smoothing my fingers out of a clenched fist. "You are one of my best friends and I value your friendship and mentorship and hope to never be without you in my life. But empty sex isn't what I want for myself and it's not something I can handle with you. There's no way I'd be able to keep it compartmentalized and I'd be crushed. I can't afford to be crushed now, with Krista relying on me." Babe explained, her eyes imploring me to understand.

"So that's it? You get to make all the decisions?" I challenged, snatching my hand back. It was obvious Babe was calling the shots here and the lack of control was unnerving and throwing me off balance.

"You're right, I never asked you what you wanted. I was just going by what I knew to be true at the time. So, have things changed for you? What do you want from me? Do you _want_ a relationship with me? With dates and meeting each other's families and his and her toothbrushes and real chance at a future?

Shit. I was hoping to avoid this topic and just have things with Babe and I coast along like they'd been. "I've always been honest with you Babe, and my life doesn't lend itself to relationships," I finally admitted, getting up and moving to her end of the sofa. I hovered over her with my hands resting on either side of her, effectively trapping her with my body. "But I never considered what we had to be short-term."

"Well then that's your answer" Babe said, fruitlessly pushing against my chest as she moved to stand. "I can't have someone in my life in a romantic capacity without the tangible possibility of a long-term relationship and friendship with a side of sex isn't a relationship" she announced, slipping under my arm to stand across the black coffee table from me. "And I certainly can't have that with Krista. I won't let her get attached to someone just to have the floor fall out from under us." Her voice never wavered and her gaze trapped mine with her determined, crystal blue eyes.

Eyes that turned midnight blue just for me, eyes that seemed to be able to look into my soul, eyes that wanted me to step up but knew that I wouldn't. Eyes that I couldn't bear to hurt but knew that I ultimately would with my selfishness.

"It was one thing to be cavalier with my heart when it was just me, but it's a risk I can't take, I _refuse_ to take when it comes to Krista. I'm sorry Ranger."

A moment of silence stretched between us, both of us waiting for the other to capitulate to the other's needs. When it was clear that neither of us was going to cede, Babe broke the silence. "Well, now that we know where we both stand I think we need to discuss boundaries"

I quirked an eyebrow and nodded for her to continue.

"Well… we have maintain physical boundaries, no more stolen kisses in the alley. And the midnight B&Es have to stop."

"I see. Is that what you really want?" I asked, walking around the coffee table and coming to a stop precariously close to her. Close enough for my breath to flutter her hair and my scent to envelop her.

"Y-yes Ranger, I'm sure" she managed to eke out, stumbling a few steps back.

"So you can access my apartment anytime but there are restrictions for me? That hardly seems fair Babe."

"I can't."

I looked at her questioningly, urging her to explain.

"I can't access your apartment," she amended, "I had Hector switch my all-access backstage pass key fob for a standard issue one that just allows me to access the areas I need for work."

She did what? I hadn't really taken all this talk of moving on and boundaries all that seriously until I heard that she'd already taken active steps toward it. "When?"

"A few days after you went in the wind. Before Krista."

Her answer stopped me cold. She had put serious thought into her decision to move on, and it wasn't some gut-reaction to having parenthood thrust upon her. We were over. She wanted us to be over.

I nodded in assent, accepting her terms for our friendship and moved toward the front door of her apartment. I didn't turn to look back though I knew she was following me and pulled the door closed as I heard her whisper her half of our familiar salutation.

"Don't get shot, Batman."

I leaned my back against her door for the briefest moment before pushing off and heading out. "Don't go crazy." I whispered into the night.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

I wanted to thank everyone who's stuck with this story so far and to those of you who've reviewed. I appreciate your feedback!

I also wanted to confirm that this story will build to an eventual Babe HEA. It just seemed disingenuous to have Ranger "I am an island" Manoso eagerly jump headfirst into both a relationship and parenthood with Steph right off the bat.

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SP POV

After a hearty breakfast at McDonalds, Krista and I spent Sunday morning volunteering at the dog pound. After a minor mishap helping washing one of the more temperamental dogs that ended in me covered head to foot in suds, our contributions were thankfully limited to walking, playing with and providing positive reinforcement for the dogs. We both fell in love with a few of the dogs and decided that we'd get at least one if we ever had a yard.

Krista and I decided on Pino's subs for lunch after which she took a nap and I took a shower. Just as I stepped out of the shower I heard my phone ringing. I wrapped my towel around myself and dripped my way to my bedside table to find 'Mom' lighting my phone's display. I figured it would be easier to talk to her now and get it over with rather than risk her blowing up my phone every 15 minutes until I finally caved and called her back.

"Mother, what can I do for you?" I asked, curtly. I was still holding out for an apology for how she handled the whole 'me getting custody of Krista' situation before my clipped tone would be anything resembling polite.

"Is that anyway to answer your phone? Honestly Stephanie, I just don't understand why you choose to behave the way you do."

"Well I guess that means all my efforts toward achieving enigma status have paid off."

"I didn't call to listen to your sass, Stephanie," my mother said in a warning tone.

"Why did you call?

"I called to invite you and Krista to dinner tonight" she said, her voice nauseatingly saccharine and triggering my spidey senses.

"The last time we were over for dinner I told you we wouldn't be back unless you were prepared to apologize. Are you saying that you're apologizing about how you reacted and are going to back off and let me make my own decisions?" It wasn't likely, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Yes, I apologize for my reaction and I'm making chocolate torte for dessert."

Wow, chocolate torte is akin to groveling at the Plum household. Although after my conversation with Thomas, V's brother, it seems more likely her apology and promise of a decadent dessert are a smoke screen to lull me into a false sense of security before my and V's parents ambush Krista and me. Well, there was no way I was falling for their plan. Nope.

"Thank you for the invitation Mother, but Krista and I have other plans for dinner."

"What? What other plans could you possibly have that are more important than your family?"

"I'm sorry, maybe we could do dinner another day."

"Waiiit," my mother's voice implored through the phone, "how about you two come over for a little before or after dinner."

"What's so important that we have to come by today?" I inquired, confident in my earlier presumption that my mother was up to no good.

"Well… I just feel awful about how things went the last time we saw you and… it would give me peace of mind if you two would just stop by for a bit."

"Like I said earlier, Krista and I have plans, but I'll call you back to let you know if and when would work for us today. Bye" I replied before hanging up.

I really didn't want to waste any time at Casa Plum (see that Rosetta Stone program was working already!), but I figured I should call Robert Lawrence, V and Dom's lawyer, to update him on this new development.

Still sporting the freshly-showered towel dress look, I dialed Robert.

"Stephanie," he answered, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi Robert. Sorry to call on a Sunday, I just needed to update you on a few things." I explained my mother's unexpected apology and reminded him of Thomas' earlier call warning me of my and V's mothers' alliance.

"You're right Stephanie, this is quite disturbing news. Although it could work in our favor, depending on how far V's family is willing to go to obtain custody of Krista." Robert said in a calculated tone.

"How so?"

"Well, if they threaten to make further calls to Child Protective Services to impugn your character or something and you could get that on tape it would help to illustrate their poor character if they pursue litigation to dispute your custody." Robert explained.

"Oh, I see. Well I have access to recording devices at work that I could borrow. So you think it's worth me going over there for a bit, just to see if we get anything on tape that could work in our favor?"

"Definitely, although I wouldn't take Krista."

"Yeah, I don't want her to hear any arguments" I agreed.

"And, well, from what I've gathered, your mother seems to be quite relentless, so you might as well get it over with."

"True. If not today, then it would happen some other day. Thanks for the advice, and I'll email you a copy of the audio file once it's over."

"I'm glad you called. I'm always here for you two. Bye."

"Bye." I said and hung-up.

I called my mother and told her I'd be able to drop by around 3PM. Making a stop at RangeMan and finding a babysitter had just been promoted to the top of my To Do list.

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Hector POV

I was diligently cataloguing inventory when Stephanie knocked and strolled into my office on the third floor of RangeMan. "Hola Estefania" I greeted her.

She was dressed in a conservative yet flattering wrap dress in a deep shade of plum that hit right above her knee. She accessorized it with nude 3-inch pumps, delicate diamond studs and her hair loose and falling in soft curls.

"Hola Hector. Como estas?" she asked. (Translation: Hi Hector. How are you?)

Wow, had she been brushing up on her Spanish? And why? "Hablas espanol?! Lo bueno!" (Translation: You speak Spanish?! How great!)

"Yo solo hablo un poco de espanol. Pero estoy tratando de aprender mas cada dia!" Bombshell replied. (Translation: I only speak a little Spanish. But I'm learning more every day!)

"Es esto una sorpresa para el jefe?" I asked, curious as to what spurred her sudden interest in Spanish. (Translation: Is this is surprise for the boss?)

"No, es para Krista, mi… como se dice _goddaughter_?" (Translation: No, it's for Krista, my… how do you say goddaughter?)

"Si, su ahijada."I supplied.

"Gracias, es para mi ahijada. Su padre es de Puerto Rico, y su padres querian que ella hablara espanol." Stephanie explained. (Translation: Thank you, it is for my goddaughter. Her father is from Puerto Rico and her parents wanted her to speak Spanish.)

"Muy bien" (Translation: Very good.)

"Gracias. Hector, Necesito un favor por favor." (Translation: Thank you. Hector, I need a favor please.)

"Que es?" I asked. (Translation: What is it.)

"Necesito un… bug" she explained. (Translation: I need a… bug.)

"Hmm… Si, entiendo! I said, ushering her toward the selection of listening devices. "Para que?" I asked to figure out why she needed a bug and to make sure she was fully equipped for whatever it was she was getting into. (Translation: Hmm… Yes, I understand. For what?)

"Para una conversacion con mi madre," she stated, nonchalantly. (Translation: For a conversation with my mother.)

I snapped my head to face her, a questioning look on my face. What could possibly be going on that she would need to record a conversation with her mother? I knew Steph's mom was a shrew, but to record her something serious must be going on.

"No te preocupes Hector," she said in response to my questioning gaze. (Translation: Don't' worry.)

I gave her a small USB sized recording device and showed her how to turn it on and off and how to load the recording onto her laptop. By 2:45PM she had thanked me and was headed out the door with a devious glint in her eyes.

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SP POV

I ran through a mental check list as I drove towards my parents house for the non-apology.

Babysitter for Krista, check. Thankfully Ella had been free and more than willing to watch Krista. I really didn't want to have to take Krista to what was sure to be a trap and have her subjected to any more negativity courtesy of Helen Plum.

Recording device, check. Hector had picked out a bug that would fit all my needs and shown me how to use it. Luckily it was Bombshell proof, his words.

Confidence enhancing heels, check. It's the extra height, I'm convinced. Makes me feel like I can take anything on.

Fake emergency call from Mare incase things last longer than 30 minutes, check. Mare had been more than happy to provide me with a get out of jail free call as long as I promised her all the gory details.

At 2:57PM I parked behind a shinny new Mercades that I assumed belonged to V's parents, angled out of my M3 and walked towards the blue and white painted house I grew up in. By the time I reached the front door, my mother had appeared and ushered me into the living room.

"Stephanie, why don't you have a seat while I get everyone some coffee. You know the Smiths, right?" my mother asked over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen.

I sat in an armchair next to my father who was firmly planted in his chestnut brown recliner and across from V's parents, Margaret and William Smith. Margaret shared V's hazel eyes and cheek bones, but in everything else they were quite dissimilar. Margaret had donned a carnation pink Chanel tweed suit and her blond hair was styled in a matronly bob that curled in below her chin. William was a calvous, frail man with glasses who was also impeccably dressed in a gray suit. Both Smiths had expressions indicating they would much rather be anywhere else as they were clearly too high-brow for the likes of my parents' bourgeois home.

When I didn't see my Grandma I figured my Mother had found a way to get rid of jer for the night in an effort to reduce my support. Well, little did she know that I alone am more than she could hope to contend with. And I had come prepared.

I discreetly turned on the recording device as my mother entered the living room with a tray laden with coffee and the accompanying accouterments. "Stephanie, I thought you were going to bring Krista with you," my mother said as she handed everyone a cup of coffee.

"I thought it would be best if I came alone." I said as I stirred in the requisite amount of milk and sugar to make it palatable, my attention firmly focused on the tendrils of steam escaping my caffeinated concoction.

There was no way I was going to start this conversation. They planned this sham of an apology, they could start the talking. Besides, I was being recorded and it would look better for me if I retained my composure throughout the confrontation.

"Stephanie, I called you here today so that I could… apologize for my rash reaction to your news and… discuss your options," my Mother began. I guess she'd drawn the short straw and had been elected spokesperson for the group.

"Well, I appreciate you taking the time to apologize. As for these so-called options, there is no need for any discussion. I have custody of Krista and will be raising her in a manner I know V and Dom would approve of." I replied calmly.

An undignified snort came from Margaret. "We've done our research missy. And you are not fit to be a parent, especially not to my granddaughter!"

"Excuse me? V and Dom know, sorry, knew me very, very well. And out of all of the people they knew they could count on, which includes you two, they chose me to be Krista's guardian. It is a responsibility and privilege that I take extremely seriously." I replied, miraculously managing to keep my temper in check.

"Stephanie, you need to think about this practically. You don't know how to cook and you have no experience raising a child," my mother chastised.

"Not that I need to explain myself to any of you, but I can cook basic things. And I've made arrangements with a friend for weekly cooking lessons," I said. One more thing to be grateful to Ella for, I thought. "And most new parents don't have any experience, they just ask for advice and read books and do the best that they can."

"Listen here young lady, I have it on good authority that you never wanted to be a parent in the first place. So why are you so adamant about being one now?" William said, joining in on the world's worst intervention.

"You are mistaken sir. _If _I said any such thing it was in reference to my boy friend at the time, not a general statement. Furthermore, I love Krista, I have since the moment I saw her and I am honored to be raising her." I said in a clipped tone. Keep your calm, keep your calm, keep your calm I repeated to myself.

"What about all of the disasters you get mixed up in?" my mother added.

"Yes, are we supposed to be comfortable with the fact that our Christine is living with someone who is regularly stalked or has her vehicle blown up every few weeks? You're too dangerous to be a parent! It's just not safe!" Margaret added, her voice grating.

I remember V telling me that her mother hated Krista's name and kept trying to change it, I figured she was exaggerating, but shockingly she wasn't. Margaret was openly referring to Krista as Christine! "First of all, my goddaughter, your granddaughter, is named Krista, not Christine. Something someone who claims to love her and have her best interests in mind should know."

"Well-" Margaret began, only to have me cut her off.

"Secondly, the dangerous aspects to my life were precipitated by my previous occupation. I now have a much safer, secure job that is flexible enough to allow me to work from home so that I can be with Krista afterschool instead of having to enroll her in daycare." I finished explaining,

"Stephanie, being responsible for a child is a life-long commitment and you can't make such a decision on a whim because you're sad about your friends" my Mother said, earning a nod of agreement from my Father and the Smiths. "Also, this new job is no better than your old one. At least in your old job you didn't work in a building full of thugs!"

Oh no she didn't! "Those _thugs_, as you so ignorantly called them are them are heroes and have saved my life more than once. That _should_ earn then some respect in your eyes. Many of them are highly decorated military personnel and have helped local and federal law enforcement." I said, my voice dripping with barely contained hostility.

After a few deep breaths to calm down, I continued in a less aggressive tone. "Also, I understand what a monumental decision it was to accept guardianship of Krista. And I've made the necessary changes in my life to be the best parent to Krista that I can be. Nothing you can say is going to make me change my mind. I will not fail Krista, V or Dom." I said, my voice strong with conviction.

"While I admire your stance, I can't help but feel that at some point you are going to wonder why you chose to complicate your life, especially when there are much better suited people to serve as our granddaughter's guardians," William said. "You need to think about what is best for Krista, and we are more experienced at raising children and wealthier which makes us capable of giving Krista better opportunities."

"Yes, we only want what is best for Christi-Krista." Margaret added.

"I agree that the decision of guardianship should be based on what is best for Krista, but the assessment of what is best for Krista should be delineate by her parents, Veronica and Dominic. And they decided that I would be better able to determine what is best for Krista than either of you." I said pointedly. "I knew both V and Dom very well, and I know that they absolutely did not agree with your narrow-minded definition of what was best, which is why they chose to distance themselves and their daughter from you."

"How dare you, you know nothing!" Margaret spat.

"Oh I know plenty Mrs. Smith. I know about how you _welcomed_ Dominic into the family by suggesting he was only interested in V for her inheritance, I know about the passive-aggressive stunts you pulled during their wedding, I even know about the Thanksgiving during which you belittled your granddaughter's father after which V and Dom cut ties with you completely to keep your judgmental negativity away from their daughter." I said, causing Margaret to blush slightly at having her dirty laundry aired for everyone to see.

"I know that eventually you will wonder why you gave up your uncomplicated life for someone else's daughter, and I know that _everyone_ has a price. We are willing to provide you with incentives to give up your custody." William said, his elbows on his knees and his fingers steepled, assessing me with a calculating gaze.

The shock at registering what he'd just said was written across my face. I couldn't even think of anything to say. I suppose this is the kind of thing Robert was hoping I'd get on tape. Once my mind started functioning again, I decided I could use the opportunity to give the Smiths just enough rope to hang themselves.

"So what exactly are you proposing?" I asked, once I'd managed to wipe the shocked look off my face.

"Monetary incentive for you to do what is in Krista's best interests and give up custody. Everybody wins" William explained smugly.

"So, just to be clear, you are wiling to pay me so that you two can have custody of Krista against her parents' wishes?" I asked.

"Exactly." William answered. From the greedy, excited look on my Mother's face, I could tell this is how the Smiths had managed to cement her support. Even my father looked pleasantly surprised by this new development.

"Well, thanks but no thanks, ever. There is no amount of _incentive_ that would make me give up custody of Krista, especially not to the last people V and Dom would want raising their precious, innocent child." I announced, getting up and walking toward the door. Once I'd reached the edge of the living room, I turned around. "Oh, by the way, the conversation we just had was recorded," I said, relishing in the looks of shock, embarrassment and anger on my and V's parents' faces. "Also, I suggest you stop calling Child Protective Services to spread malicious rumors about me that threaten my custody or I'll have to make a few calls of my own with a little show and tell, or rather hear and tell" I finished, before walking toward the front door. I had made it halfway through the front yard before my mother's shrill voice stopped me.

"Stephanie, Stephanie! You stop right this instant and come back inside!"

I turned around to find both my parents standing in the doorway. "No Mother, this conversation is _beyond_ over."

"If you walk away now, don't you dare think of coming back Stephanie," my Mother hissed. "The Smiths' offer is very generous and you _will_ accept it!"

I looked to my Father to see if he would back me up, but his expression was stony. "You need to listen to your Mother, she knows what's best."

Figures, I thought, he was just as absent now as when Morelli waxed poetic about me on bathroom walls after the Tasty Pastry incident or when I was strong-armed into marrying The Dick. Still, it hurt that he was unwilling to support me or have faith in me.

"Mother, I told you that the only way I would come back would be if you were willing to apologize and be supportive of my choices. Until you are willing to do that, I won't be coming back." I said with a clipped tone. As I walked toward my M3 I noticed several nosy neighbors peeking out of their curtains, undoubtedly alerting the Burg gossip mill of the most recent development in the Bombshell Bounty Hunter's life.

I angled myself into my car and had just started to drive away when Mare called with her fake emergency. I finished filling her in on all the sordid details as I pulled into the RangeMan underground garage. After a quick stop at my office on the fifth floor to email Robert a copy of the recording, I headed up to the sixth floor, excited for my first cooking lesson with Ella.

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Ella POV

"So Ella, what are we going to learn to make today?" Stephanie asked me, slightly distracted.

I could tell that whatever happened at her parents' house had been particularly harsh, but she was determined to keep it to herself for the time being and not let it ruin the rest of her day.

"Well, I was thinking we could make ropa vieja, a traditional Cuban dish." It was also one of Ranger's favorite dishes, and judging by the amount of drinking he did last night, he would probably appreciate some comfort food tonight. And it wouldn't hurt that Stephanie had helped make it.

"Oh I've never had that before, but I bet it's delicious. What do you need us to do?"

"First we need to get all of the ingredients ready. Krista, can you wash the vegetables and give them to Stephanie to dice while I cut and start cooking the flank steak?"

Thirty minutes later we were all relaxing in the living room, waiting on the meat to simmer. "Thank you ladies for the help." I said.

"Thank you for taking the time to teach us Ella. I've never really been a fan of cooking because my experience was mostly my Mother yelling at me, but this was really fun." Stephanie said. "And everything smells delicious, I can't wait to try it!"

"Mhmm Aunt Ella, it smells really yummy!" Krista added.

"Well, I'm glad for the company. It's nice to be able to share my recipes with someone. Louis usually spends Sunday afternoons with friends of his, so this worked out perfect for me."

"So, it's a date then. Sunday afternoon cooking lessons?" Stephanie asked.

"Absolutely! And if there's something in particular you'd like to learn, just let me know."

"Dessert, I'd like to know how to make some easy but delicious desserts." Stephanie said, getting a slightly dreamy look in her eyes.

"Oooh, and we have to learn how to make that fancy macaroni and cheese Aunt Ella, it's the best!"

"Well then it's settled. Next week we'll learn how to make fancy macaroni and cheese and tiramisu for dessert." I announced to my very enthusiastic culinary disciples.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

After a relaxing evening with Ella and Louis, Krista and I headed home and got everything ready for her first day of school tomorrow from her uniform to her school supplies. "So Krista, are you excited for school tomorrow?" I asked as I tucked her into bed.

"Yeah, a little. But…"

"Are you maybe a little nervous too?"

"A little… I miss my friends Aunt Stephie."

"I know munchkin, but we can always go and visit them and you'll make new friends here. Also, the Headmaster said that I could stay with you for as long as you'd like tomorrow, so you won't be alone."

"But won't you get in trouble with Uncle Tank and Mr. Ranger if you miss work?"

"Nope, I already told them that I might be late."

"Mkay. Thanks Aunt Stephie."

"Anytime munchkin, so, what story would you like to hear tonight?" I asked.

"I think I want to hear the story about how Mommy and Daddy met each other again." Krista said, stifling a yawn.

"Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a princess named Veronica." I began.

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RM POV

Who the hell was knocking on my door at 2300 when I was clearly offline? I thought as I shuffled towards my penthouse apartment door. I opened it to find Tank, my second in command. I could tell he was surprised at my disheveled appearance and whiskey breath.

"Come on in," I said sarcastically as I made my way back to the living room. I settled back into the chocolate colored leather sofa and poured myself another drink. Tank sat in a recliner on the other side of the coffee table, now decorated in watermark rings. We stared at each other in silence for a while, with only the harsh glow from the tv to illuminate the room.

"So you're really taking this Sunday Funday thing to a whole new level, huh?" Tank asked as he surveyed the empty beer bottles and the partially finished bottle of whiskey between us.

"I'm unwinding after my last mission, nothing more."

"Bullshit. You went to Little Girl's apartment last night and according to Ella you've been holed up here drinking ever since." Tank never was one to sugar coat anything.

"So? I'm offline, I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Yeah, you can. I just thought instead of taking out your frustration at whatever's bugging you on your liver you'd rather talk about it."

"Jeez, when did you turn into a chic?"

"Please, you wish you were half the man I am!" Tank answered, flipping me the bird. "Seriously though, I get that the changes with Bombshell were surprising and a lot has happened in the past three weeks. What I don't get it why you're here mainlining whiskey."

"What we had before I left was perfect, but now what she wants is different and I guess I was just caught off guard."

"The Mighty Manoso caught off guard by a 120 pound white girl. Never thought I'd see the day!" Tank said, laughing.

"Yeah well, I'm not really relationship material, much less father material." I said as an explanation.

"Well, things have been going well between you and Julie, right?"

"Yeah, but that's us talking on the phone a few times a week and seeing each other a handful of times a year. Babe and her goddaughter need someone who would be there everyday. I just wish we could've kept on like things were before I left." I groused.

"Well," Tank started, taking a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle, "Little Girl needs something long term, and if you aren't ready for that or if you don't want it, then you need to step aside and let her get on with her life."

Was Tank really standing up for Babe against me? "Or what? You never know, she could change her mind and decide things were fine the way they were." Besides, I thought, I'd never considered what Babe and I had to have an expiration date, at least not one that I would enforce. I just figured we'd keep going like we were and the only way things would end would be if Babe's decided she wanted the whole picket fence, dog, 2.5 kids thing. And even then, I'd do my best to change her mind.

"Everyone at RangeMan cares about Bombshell. They respect you but they're like big brothers to her, and you don't want to lose anyone's respect by messing with their honorary little sister, especially when she's just trying to step up in a big way for her goddaughter." Tank said, the subtle threat evident in his tone.

I guess he _was_ standing up for Babe against me. And it sounded like he wasn't alone either.

"I get it man."

"Good," Tank said, taking another drink of whiskey and getting up. "I'll see you tomorrow Ranger" he announced, leaving my apartment.

I poured myself another generous helping of whiskey and thought through something I realized during my talk with Tank. If I really didn't foresee an end to our intimate coupling, did that mean Babe and I were in a relationship? Shit! That couldn't be right, could it? I mean I'm Ranger Manoso, badass mercenary turned businessman, I don't do stupid shit like relationships.

My life just didn't lend itself to relationships, it was that simple. That _was_ the reason, right? I'd repeated that particular mantra to myself and Babe so many times over the years that I hadn't really thought about its veracity in a while. It couldn't be that somewhere deep down I was scared that I wouldn't be able to make a relationship work or that Babe wouldn't want a relationship with me if she got to know all of me, right? It couldn't be that. I've taken on ruthless cartels and come out victorious, I'm Batman, and Batman isn't scared of shit.

What I needed to do was file Babe under erotica-non-grata and get Babe out of my system by cleansing my boudoir pallet with some anonymous sex. Really hot, anonymous sex, I thought, taking down the rest of the whiskey.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story. I appreciate all of your feedback! And sorry for Ranger being a bit of an idiot at the end of the last chapter. He's having to adjust to a lot of changes at once and he's not handling it as smoothly as people had hoped. I promise he will eventually realize what he wants despite it being different from what he thought he wanted or deserved and there will be a Babe HEA.

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SP POV

I was rescued from my nightmare of leaving Krista at school only to have her and the other kindergarten students held hostage by sentient, supersized crayons, chalkboard erasers and other school supplies by my trusty alarm clock. I got about of bed, careful to avoid disrupting Krista who had joined me in the middle of the night and headed into the bathroom to answer nature's call and wrangle myself into a sports bra for my morning workout. I dropped a kiss on Krista's forehead, left the walkie talkie within her reach and headed to the apartment gym.

A surprisingly quick hour later I traipsed back into the apartment, sweaty yet energized to rouse Krista from bed. "Good morning, munchkin! We have to get ready for your first day of school!"

"Mkay, just five more minutes please Aunt Stephie" Krista grumbled, burrowing deeper into my white damask covered comforter.

"Okay Krista" I said, heading into my bathroom to wash my face. A few minutes later I managed to get Krista out of bed and headed towards her bathroom to get ready for the day.

I took a quick shower and decided on a sleek black pencil skirt with a slit halfway up the side of my thigh, a matching suit jacket and a fitted white button down shirt with my red suede peep-toe platform stilettoes that Becks was admiring when she helped me unpack. I accessories with red dangly earrings and managed to smooth my riot of hair into side ponytail of soft curls. I completed my ensemble with the RangeMan required daily arsenal which consisted of a knife I slipped into a thigh holster that rested a few inches above the end of the slit in my skirt and my Chiappa Rhino 20DS revolver that was in a zippered part of my purse. After giving myself a once over, I went to help Krista get ready for her first day of school.

Krista was just finishing getting into her uniform that we'd laid out the night before. I helped her zip up her red, white and navy plaid jumper and swept her thick hair into a French braid. "Okay, Krista, why don't you get your shoes on while I make you some breakfast."

"Okay" she said, hopping off her bed to finish getting ready.

I had just finished spreading a liberal helping of cream cheese on a bagel when Krista came into the kitchen. I helped her onto one of the breakfast bar stools and placed her bagel, milk and chewy Batman vitamin in front of her. She quickly finished her breakfast while I dropped a few grapes into Rex's cage.

"Ready to go?" I asked, grabbing my purse and helping Krista slip her purple star covered backpack on.

"Mhmm" Krista said, nodding.

"Alright then, let's get going!" I said, grabbing her hand in mine and heading down to the garage.

::::::::::::::::

SP POV

"Okay children, settle down and start coloring your letter A worksheets" Ms. Brooks announced to the class of 20 kindergarten students. Ms. Brooks was a petit woman with her blond hair held in place by a navy headband with matched seamlessly with her navy slacks and navy and white striped blouse. She had a warm smile and welcomed all of the students and several of their parents to her classroom.

I was standing in the back of the room with a smattering of other parents too anxious to simply drop of their children and leave. Luckily upon arriving Krista immediately made friends with Swati, an Indian girl with an exotic complexion and silky black hair in braided pigtails. Swati offered to share her crayons and they scurried off together to pick a table to sit at. Krista's quick friendship made me feel more comfortable about leaving her, but I still wanted to stay for a few minutes, just incase.

"So, which one is yours?" the woman standing next to me whispered. She was a few inches shorter than me with black hair streaked through with auburn and a skin tone a shade lighter than Swati's. She was wearing a designer sheath dress, killer heels and had a fancy designer purse.

"Over there, with the French braid," I said, pointing Krista out, "her name's Krista. Which one is yours?"

"She's sitting next to Krista, her name's Swati. I'm Roshni," she whispered, holding her hand out.

I shook her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Stephanie. It's nice to meet you."

"Well, it looks like our girls have definitely hit it off!"

"Yeah, I'm actually relieved that they've already made friends, it'll make leaving easier." I answered.

"Mhmm, although neither of us seems to be leaving!" she replied.

"I know, it's much harder than I thought it would be, especially given that we'll see them again in a few hours."

She giggled in response. "It's always hard, although Swati's my third child so I'm doing better than I did before."

"Wow, so you have three children? I've been struggling with one!" I asked, amazed that the woman next to me had multiple children and still managed to look photo-shoot ready whereas I only had one and barely managed to pull of business chic.

"Yeah, it's especially crazy once all of their extracurricular activities begin," she said with a knowing sigh.

"I bet. So far all I've got Krista signed up for in ballet."

"Oh, you must sign up for Mommy and Me swimming classes. Swati and I would love to see you there," she exclaimed while whispering.

"That sounds really fun! Where and when is it?" I asked, pulling out my phone to email myself the information.

"It's on Saturday morning at 10 AM at the Trenton Swim Club." Roshni said.

I quickly typed the information she relayed and told her I'd see her there on Saturday. We both stayed and watched as the kids colored for another ten minutes before deeming it safe to leave.

:::::::::::::::

Connie POV

I slipped into a chair next to Steph at Star Diner for weekly breakfast with the girls just in time to get a steaming cup of coffee and place my order.

"So ladies, how were your weekends?" Steph asked as we doctored our coffees with liberal amounts of cream and sugar.

"I had a date with a guy I met at girls' night this past Thursday" I said.

"Oooh, I knew you two were gonna get your nasty on! How was it?" Lula asked.

"Waiiiit what guy? You met him on Thursday?" Steph asked, trying to catch up.

'Yeah, Lula and I went to listen to the Spazmatics play after dinner and I met a guy while we were dancing!" I explained. "Anyways, the date was pretty great. We went to the Trenton Fair and hung out all day."

"Wow, that sounds awesome, so what's he like?"

"Oh I have a picture of me and Trevor," I said, pulling up the picture on my phone and passing it to Steph.

"Forget what he's like, I want dirty details! How was he?" Lula asked. I could always count on her to get right to the good stuff.

"We.. umm.. we didn't really get to that part." I explained, a slight blush suffusing my face.

"Huh... well that's no fun. You got me all excited for nothin'!" Lula grumbled.

"So, you really like him, huh?" Steph asked, a knowing look on her face.

Since my divorce I've been more interested in immediate physical gratification rather than long-term relationships. I figure the likelihood of finding someone who I clicked with and felt comfortable being myself with was low whereas finding someone to have a fun, flirty fling with for a few weeks or even months seemed much more achievable. At least I thought that until I met Trevor. The instant attraction was there, how could it not be? He was the definition of tall, dark and handsome with an affable demeanor and adorable dimples when he smiled. But we also really got each other.

"Yeah, well, it's too early to tell. But we had a lot of fun and there were no awkward first date silences or anything." I replied, attempting a nonchalant attitude.

"Mhmm," Steph replied, "so when are you two going out again?"

"We have plans to see a baseball game on Wednesday." I answered.

"I expect details when you two lovebirds finally get to the good stuff!" Lula demanded. "Speaking of which, I spent part of the weekend with Tank and we had a _lot_ of fun. I swear that guy is like the energizer bunny, just keeps going and going and-"

"Stop, Lula! Please, not over breakfast. Besides, it's not nice to show off and make Connie and me jealous." Steph interjected, thankfully. I'm all for sex talk, just not so early in the morning in a family style diner.

"What do you mean jealous? I have it on good authority that Batman's back in town." Lula said.

"What, he's back? Are you two still, you know?" I asked Steph.

"No, we're not. It ended when he went in the wind, we just hadn't had a chance to talk about it. We talked last night and decided it's best if we just stay friends." Steph explained hurriedly.

"So friends with benefits?" Lula asked.

"Nope. No benefits aside from sparkling conversation with yours truly."

"Really?" I asked incredulously. Steph and Ranger had been dancing around each other since they met and I figured when they'd hooked up after Steph finally ended things with Morelli they would be in it for the long haul.

"Really. Besides, I want more than just... benefits, especially now that I have Krista," she explained.

"That makes sense, you have to set a good example and all of that." I concurred.

"Yeah, and I don't want Krista getting attached to Ranger just to have him get bored or overwhelmed and leave. We need someone with the possibility of long-term." Steph added.

"Well, if you change your mind, I have lots of tricks to keep men from getting bored from my ho days." Lula offered.

"I'm good for now, but thanks!" Steph said, laughing.

Our conversation was halted by the waitress bringing our orders and Steph's phone ringing. "Sorry guys, I have to take this, it's Veronica and Dominic's lawyer," she said after checking the display. "Good morning Robert… you heard the recording?... Yeah, it's pretty damning stuff… Thanks! Bye."

"So, is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was just checking in to let me know he got the recording of the conversation I had yesterday with my and V's parents about Krista" she said with a devious glint in her eye.

"This is super juicy, isn't it?! Spill!" I demanded as the three of us dug into our breakfasts.

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RM POV

I spent a few semi-hung-over of hours before the Monday morning meeting getting caught up on the state of affairs at all of the RangeMan locations. By 1000, I was completely sober, caught up and pleasantly surprised by the new business that RangeMan had acquired while I was in the wind. Most notable of which was the Sognare Newark location account that Babe had secured. It was definitely an account that I wanted to discuss.

I hit the button to connect me to Babe's office, "Hi Ranger," she answered.

"Babe. Could you come to my office."

"Sure thing, I'll be there in five. Bye."

I continued to go through mail that had piled up while I was in the wind as I waited for Babe.

A few minutes later a slight tingle down my spine announced Babe's pending presence. Seconds later Babe came flouncing into my office. She was wearing a tight black suit with a slit in the skirt that flashed an alluring expanse of alabaster leg with every step she took. That coupled with the red sky-high heels ratcheted up my heart-rate. She sat in one of the club style guest chairs across my desk. "So, what's going on?"

"I'm going through mail, I can't seem to find my letter opener though."

"Oh no problem Boss-man," she said, crossing her legs so that the slit of her skirt stretched to reveal even more leg. She reached up into her skirt past the end of the slit and brought out a 4-in, black metal throwing knife. "This is another of Hector's creation for his Bombshell self defense line. I'm gonna need it back when you're done though," Babe announced nonchalantly and handed me the knife, as if she wasn't aware just how sinfully seductive what she just did was.

"Thanks Babe," I said, fighting the urge to shoot her a quick wolf-grin and placing the knife on my desk near my teetering mountain of unopened mail. I was unbelievably thankful that I hadn't thought to use the knife in my boot to open the envelopes. "Congrats on signing Sognare. I've been after them for a while. Proud of you Babe."

"Thanks!" she said, blushing slightly.

"What do you think the chances are of us acquiring security contracts for their other locations?" I asked, trying to bring my focus back onto the business at hand.

"We might be able to sign the Boston and New York locations since we have RangeMan offices there, but they'll probably want to wait a while to see how things go in Newark first," she explained.

"Okay."

"I checked in with Gianna and Caterina, the sisters who own Sognare, after the installation and they seemed really happy with how everything was set up. They were actually _so_ appreciative that I dropped by to see how thing were going in person that they gave Krista and I tickets for the New York City Ballet!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I tried to tell them that it was too much and that me stopping by was just part of our customer service, but they held firm that I accept the gift. It's okay, right?" Babe rattled out.

"It's fine Babe."

"Great, because I already told Krista and she is crazy, over the moon excited about it. Oh that reminds me, have you talked to Julie since you've been back?" Babe asked, her excitement from earlier morphing into a slightly anxious look in her eyes.

"No, is something wrong?" I asked, mentally going through the reports from when I was in the wind. I was certain none of the mentioned Julie, although I did read them while I was recuperating from a hang-over.

"Nothing wrong, per say, it's just that I was talking to her and one minute she's super excited to have finally talked her mom into letting her visit you and about us hanging out and a potential trip to Miami. Then, once I explained how Krista was now staying with me she sorta clammed up and ended the call."

"Oh, I see." I guess I wasn't the only one feeling blindsided and shunted to the periphery by Babe's newfound parent status.

"Yeah, I called her the next day and left a message explaining how amazing I think she is and how glad I am to have her in my life, but you may want to call to check up on her as well. She may be more open to talking to you than to me right now."

"I will, thanks for the heads up Babe."

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

After picking Krista up from school at noon and a quick lunch, I dropped Krista off with Ella to make brownies for the guys while I prepared for meetings I had scheduled for later in the week. I had initially planned on doing the prep work from my home office, but Krista really wanted to visit all of her Range-Uncles. After an hour, I decided I deserved a little break and headed to the break room for a bottle of water and a snack.

When I walked in I found Lester, Bobby, Woody and Ram seated at one of the tables. Bobby was fussing over Woody who seemed to have hurt his shoulder. I had just grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge when Ella and Krista came in, rolling a cart with a mountain of decadent, chocolate brownies that smelled divine.

"Wow, that smells amazing!" "Awesome!" Lester and Ram exclaimed. Within seconds we were all happily munching away on the delicious brownies. We were too preoccupied to notice Ranger filling up the break room doorway.

"Explain" Ranger barked, causing the Merry Men to snap to attention, me to squeal and jump in my seat and Krista to clutch my hand.

"El-Ella and Krista b-baked brownies for the break room." I stuttered.

"Yeah Ranger, they're delicious." Lester said.

"And they're healthy," Ella added which unfortunately did nothing to alleviate the frustrated expression adorning Ranger's face.

"I leave for three weeks and everything changes," Ranger muttered.

"Mr. Ranger, do you want a brownie too?" Krista asked softly.

"Oh no, munchkin, Mr. Ranger doesn't really like brownies." I answered.

"That's silly Aunt Stephie, everybody likes brownies! Here Mr. Ranger," Krista said, holding a tiny plate with a brownie up to Ranger

He squats down so they are eye level before replying. "How about we share one?"

"Okay! I like to share," Krista replies. Ranger pinches off about a bite of brownie, pops it into his mouth and hands the plate with the rest of the brownie to Krista.

"I guess it's not a temple day, huh?" Bobby asks, grinning at Ranger being strong-armed into eating a brownie by a five year old.

I decided to save Bobby from mat time with Ranger by switching the subject. "So Woody, what happened?" I asked, motioning towards his right arm which was in a sling.

"Nothing major Bombshell, just dislocated my shoulder."

''Oh no! Uncle Woody got an boo boo! Aunt Stephie, you have to kiss it to make it better like you did when I got hurt in the park." Krista said very seriously.

"Uncle Woody's a big boy, I'm sure it doesn't hurt. And he had Uncle Bobby help fix it already." I said, ignoring the guys' snickering.

"Actually Bombshell, it does smart a bit." Woody drawled.

"Come on Aunt Stephie, you have to," Krista demanded, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward Woody.

I figured it would be easier just to acquiesce, so I got up, ignored the growl and tension radiating from Ranger and kissed Woody's shoulder, trying not to laugh at the fact that he chose to flex the hurt arm.

"Wow, you're right Mini-Bombshell! It doesn't hurt at all anymore!" Woody exclaimed, giving Krista a high five. Krista was beaming with pride at having saved Woody from certain pain.

"Maybe we should bottle up your smooches to put in the emergency med kits." Bobby added, causing Lester, Ram and Woody to laugh.

"Woody, Bobby mats, 1800 and 1900 respectively." Ranger growled, then turned to face me. "We have a meeting for the Blanton Gallery account tomorrow at 1500," he said before leaving.

Ranger couldn't be jealous, could he? Hmm…

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SP POV

The next day, Krista and I stopped by Chopped, a fancy salad joint, for a quick lunch after school and before I dropped her off for ballet and headed to the RangeMan gym for my defensive training.

"So munchkin, what do you think for the RangeMan annual party? We could go to the beach, play laser tag, or have a barbeque." I asked between bites of salad. Personally, I was all for the beach, I just couldn't get enough and the date of the annual RangeMan party would be one of the last times the weather would be swimsuit friendly.

"Hmm… what's laser tag? Is it like regular tag?" Krista asked while forking some avocado into her mouth.

"It's like tag but for adults and… actually… maybe we should take that off the list. They did that last year already. So beach or barbeque?"

"I pick the beach! It's gonna be sooo much fun Aunt Stephie!"

"Yes it is! It's a surprise though, okay? You can't tell anyone."

"Okay Aunt Stephie. I pinky promise not to tell," Krista replied, holding out her pink. I linked mine with hers to complete the promise.

"Alright," I said, chewing the last bit of my surprisingly tasty salad, "it's time for ballet!"

After my defensive training, during which Zip threw me around like a rag doll, I picked up Krista from ballet and transported us back to RangeMan while listening to her gush about how wonderful the instructor, Ms. Natasha, is.

After dropping Krista off with Ella, I headed into my 3PM meeting with Ranger and Roger Blanton III of the Blanton Gallery, one of our major accounts.

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Vince POV

I decided to take a break from running mind-numbing searches on the Capello family as prep work for their meeting with RangeMan. I was beyond surprised to see that they were on the docket for tomorrow morning, especially since they have their own day-to-day security personnel and because RangeMan has high standards. We're not just rent-a-thugs who would be willing to look the other way with respect to corruption and crime just for a payday. There's no way Ranger would seriously consider pimping his company out to the Capellos.

I walked into the break room to find Ella and Krista dropping off some baked treats. "I figured after yesterday, Ranger would've issued a dictum banning any baked goodies from the building." I said

"Well, Ranger and I came to an agreement that the baked treats had to be healthy, so today we made almond and carob protein bars." Ella explained.

"Thanks Ella and Krista." Tank said, following Lester's example and grabbing a bar from the tray. "So Krista, has Stephanie said anything about the annual RangeMan outing?"

After a brief pensive expression flitted across her face she answered in a conspiratorial whisper, "I'm not supposed to tell Uncle Tank. It's a secret."

"You can tell us," Lester said, crouching down so he was eye level with Krista.

"Yeah, we won't tell anyone," Hal added between bites of the surprisingly delicious almond and carob protein bar.

"No, I pinky promised Aunt Stephie that I wouldn't tell," Krista said. "Besides, snitches get stiches, and I don't want stiches."

"What?!" Lester exclaimed, trying not to laugh. The rest of us were considerably less successful and the break room reverberated with laughter.

"Where did you hear that?" I asked her.

"A boy in my class, his name is Dean, he said his big brother told him that," Krista explained.

"Oh man, I can't wait till she explains that to Bomber!" Tank said, chortling from the doorway.

"Well, if you can't tell us about the annual outing, can you at least tell us about Beautiful's tattoo?" Lester requested.

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SP POV

After the meeting with Roger Blanton, I collected Krista and headed home. She did some coloring and reading while I finished up some work in my super convenient home office. Then after a mouthwatering dinner of lasagna that Mare had dropped off for us, I put Krista to bed after a quick story about Sir Carlos. It seems aside from stories about her parents, he was her favorite character. Figures, he even has 5 year old girls swooning.

I had just settled into bed to go through a recipe book for the culinary challenged that Ella had given me when my phone rang. I was pleasantly surprised to see Julie's name lighting up the display. I wasn't sure if she'd want to talk to me after last week's call.

"Hi Julie!" I answered.

"Hey Steph! How's it going?"

"Oh you know, work's keeping me busy. What about you?"

"I talked to Ranger, and I think that I'll be visiting Trenton for Thanksgiving!"

"Wow, that's so exciting. I can't wait to see you." I gushed. I was glad that Ranger was making more of an effort to get to know his daughter, and it was clear that Julie really valued his efforts as well.

"Yeah, and I was hoping that I could spend some time with you and Krista," Julie said with slight trepidation.

"I would really like that, and I know Krista would too. I'll think of some things for us to do and you do the same. It's going to be an amazing trip."

"Yeah, I can't wait. Unfortunately it's not for another almost three months."

"Mhmm.. So, what else is going on?" I asked. It was as if nothing had changed, Julie was her same old exuberant, witty self and I was relieved that our friendship remained intact. I was incredibly thankful for whatever Ranger and Julie talked about helped her to realize that she wasn't replaceable and would always be important to me.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story. I appreciate all of your feedback! And sorry for taking so long to post a new chapter, I promise it won't be as long for the next one. (I got sidetracked w/ reading fanfic stories – I'm sure you can relate!)

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SP POV

After a bit of a hurried morning because both Krista and I accidently slept in (shocking, I know), I managed to make it into work on time, barely. I quickly dropped my purse off in my office, grabbed my notebook and the file for my 8AM meeting with the Capellos and headed to the client conference room on the first floor.

"Good morning Ranger," I greeted as I took my seat next to Ranger and quickly flipped through the client file. It was all information that confirmed rumors that had surrounded the Capello family for years. They were involved in less than legal entrepreneurial endeavors, which have led to the need for expected security measures. The latest threat seems to have germinated from the recent issues their apartment (using a very loose interpretation of the word) buildings have had.

"Cutting it close Babe." Ranger replied. "I like the look though, definitely worth being a few minutes late," Ranger said, giving me a once over, lingering on the cream wraparound sweater that showed a hint of cleavage. I had paired it with a white, cream and bronze tweed pencil skirt with bronze pyramid grommet detailing at the waist and bronze 4in platform pumps.

I rolled my eyes and continued reading the file until Binkie, who was working the lobby desk walked the patriarch of the Capello family, his son and his nephew into the conference room. Mr. Capello was a lean man with salt and pepper hair and stood a little under 6ft. Both his son and nephew were around 6ft with thick black hair and the same olive toned skin as Mr. Capello. His nephew had a slightly more muscular build while his son was showing the onset of a beer gut. All three had angular facial features, pointed chins and slightly cold, calculating eyes that left no doubt in my mind that they were capable of the sinister things rumors attributed to them.

I was surprised that they didn't bring their bodyguards into the meeting, but I figured they probably left them in the car seeing as to how this meeting was for additional security and it would be disrespectful to Ranger to imply they needed bodyguards in his secured building. Even the Capellos weren't brazen enough to disrespect Ranger in his own house.

"Mr. Capello," Ranger said, rising and shaking their hands. "And may I introduce my associate Stephanie Plum," he said, gesturing to me.

I reached out to shake the elder Mr. Capello's hand. "Please, call me Giorgio, Ms. Plum, and this is my son, Franco, and my nephew, Mario," Giorgio said, raising my hand to his lips and lingering for longer than I was comfortable.

"Please, call me Stephanie." I replied, quickly shaking Franco and Mario's hands and squelching the icky feeling Giorgio's kiss left me with. I plastered a slightly forced smile on and offered them water or coffee, which they declined.

"So Giorgio, you mentioned that you had some security needs that RangeMan could help you with." Ranger said, getting the meeting started with his usual economy of speech.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you've heard of the recent tragedy that befell one of our apartment buildings. Since then, we have received a number of threatening letters and anonymous phone calls," he explained, gesturing to a large, glutted manila envelope he had laid on the conference table.

"I see," Ranger said, waiting for any of the Capellos to explain what exactly they wanted RangeMan to help with.

"We don't need help with personal security or anything like that, we already have full time security. But Dad's worried about potential protesters disrupting the benefit." Franco explained apathetically, as if the threats and this meeting were a waste of his time.

"Benefit?" I questioned.

"Yes, we are hosting a benefit for the Trenton Homeless Shelter next Saturday evening and we need everything to go smoothly. It would not do to have protesters marring our philanthropic endeavor." Giorgio elaborated.

"And in what capacity did you want to retain RangeMan services?" Ranger inquired.

"We would like to hire RangeMan to secure the benefit which will take place at our Hiltonia property." Giorgio answered.

"What all would that entail?" Ranger asked.

"We would need the entrances monitored to make sure only guests would be allowed in."

"What about your catering staff? We should probably check them to make sure no potential protesters enter via that route." I added. Ranger shot me an almost smile that I took to mean he was pleased with my suggestion.

"Absolutely. We can also provide RangeMan with the guest list so they can be vetted as well." Giorgio replied.

"This seems very doable," I said, surreptitiously checking to see if Ranger agreed, "however, I was just wondering why you wouldn't have your own personal security team handle the benefit?" I could tell from my periphery Ranger, along with Mario tensed slightly at my bold question.

"Well," Giorgio chortled, "our security is adept at bodyguarding specifically, not securing a room full of civilians or running security checks on a large number of people. Also, we have high hopes for the benefit, and I know all those in attendance would feel more comfortable with a highly reputed firm such as RangeMan handling the security needs."

"We will need all of the written, verbal and other threats made as well as a detailed schedule for the benefit, names of all those that will be present, guests and staff and blue prints for your property. Additionally, we'll have to do a walk through of the location prior to the event." Ranger explained.

"Of course. The blueprints and schedule are here," Giorgio said, indicating a second manila envelope. "We will get you the rest of the information as soon as possible. When would you be able to have a proposal ready?"

"By tomorrow," Ranger answered.

"Until tomorrow then," Giorgio said, standing and offering his hand once again for Ranger to shake. After another round of handshakes, we all moved towards the door.

"Babe, why don't you show them out," Ranger requested. I nodded in assent and led the Capellos to the front door across from the lobby where Binkie was dutifully manning the phones from behind a black wood and glass semi-circular desk which blended seamlessly with the gleaming black marble floor.

After walking the Capellos out, I headed back to my office, trying to slough off the icky feeling the meeting had left me with. I couldn't understand why Ranger even wasted time meeting with the Capellos, they were not nice people and helping them was definitely against Ranger's moral code. And the once over all three of them gave me was enough to give me goose-bumps and send my spidey sense into overdrive.

I was interrupted from my musings when I found Ranger waiting for me in my office. Perfect, just the man to explain why RangeMan is wasting time and resources on the Capellos. "So Ranger, I've been wondering, why exactly did we just spend the last thirty minutes with the Capellos. They are terrible people! I'm sure you've heard about the recent fire in one of the Capello housing slums that left 2 dead and close to a hundred people homeless. If they truly cared about the homeless they would follow proper building codes and stop cutting corners in construction." I ranted as Ranger watched from his perch, leaned against my desk with his arms crossed over his muscular chest and his ankles crossed in his black on black business casual attire. The further along I got in my diatribe the closer Ranger got to smirking at me. "Well?!" I demanded petulantly.

"Babe."

"Don't Babe me, Ranger. I want an explanation, RangeMan is better than working for the Capellos, so out with it. What's going on?" I insisted, arms akimbo and tapping one stiletto heeled foot.

After a few seconds of silence Ranger gave in and decided to share with the class. "Well, RangeMan had been approached by the FBI several months ago to help bring down the Capello family. Unfortunately, at the time we had no in. Now things have changed, we'll be able to use our access to the Capello estate to help the FBI finally nail the Capellos."

"Oh, well, I'm glad we're not actually helping the Capellos and that we're doing something to effect change" I replied lamely, Ranger having effectively eliminated my argument.

"I thought you knew me well enough to know I wouldn't help someone like Giorgio Capello." Ranger said, a slightly aggrieved look flashing across his face before his blank mask slammed firmly into place. "I have worked hard to cultivate RangeMan's reputation, and because of the company standards people like the Capellos know that there is no way our employees would turn a blind eye to corruption or illegal practices which is why they would never try to hire us for their personal security needs." Ranger explained in a clipped tone. "We have a meeting with the FBI at 1030 in the large first floor conference room."

"I'll see you there." I replied to Ranger's back as he exited my office. I plopped down in my chair and prepared to return emails and messages, thankful for the reprieve from what was looking to be a Capello filled day. Once I was done I headed down to the gun range to get in my mandatory weekly hour of target practice.

Before I knew it, it was 10:30AM and time for our meeting with the FBI. I headed down to the conference room, curious to learn what the plan was to use the RangeMan's access to the Capellos to help the FBI.

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RM POV

"All right people, let's get this meeting started," I announced, effectively ending the chatter in the conference room. I looked around the room from my position at the head of the table. Babe and my core team, Tank, Lester and Bobby, were seated on either side of me. Next to Stephanie were two FBI agents who were seated across from Morelli, the TPD liaison. "Agent Berring, would you like to get everyone up to speed." I said, addressing the senior FBI agent who was seated at the other end of the conference table.

Berring was a highly decorated agent and had made a name for himself as an honest, dogged detective who specialized in organized crime and RICO cases. He was in his early forties, maintained a lean physique and had alert eyes that were constantly assessing and calculating. I imagine it was what had kept him successful and alive despite going after some of the most notorious criminal families in the North-East.

"Well we're all here to plan the take down of the Capello crime family. The FBI, state police and TPD have had no luck in infiltrating or acquiring inside information on the Capellos. We were aware that they had been receiving threats due to the recent fire in one of their slums, which led to rumors of hiring outside security for their upcoming charity benefit. The Capellos are receiving a lot of negative press for the recent fire and they need this benefit to go smoothly to maintain their position of favor with prominent city officials. RangeMan is their top choice for outside security and the FBI's chance at planting bugs within the Capello headquarters."

"And what exactly is it that you want RangeMan to do to help?" Lester asked.

"We want you to plant recording devices that the FBI will provide within the Capello property," Agent Denison, Berring's partner expounded.

"Actually, if we agree to help, we will be using our own supplies and monitoring the feeds. If any relevant information is recorded, then we will provide the recordings to the FBI." I corrected. "Our recording devices are less conspicuous and much more reliable."

"Hey-" Berring began before being cutoff by Steph.

"Excuse me? This could be very damaging to RangeMan's reputation, colluding with law enforcement against a client. Given that, we'll be setting the terms of our… partnership." Babe interjected. Her getting heated up on behalf of RangeMan's image and integrity was definitely hot, especially since it caused a light blush to suffuse her delicate features.

"Well said. Given that you need us," I said, leveling a look at Agent Berring, "RangeMan will be using our own superior resources and supplies. How we complete our objective isn't any of your concern and is not up for debate."

"Fine Manoso, use your own toys and don't give us anything unless it's useful, but you'd better get results, especially for what we're paying you." Berring replied.

"Rest assured, we're worth every penny." Babe quipped.

"Additionally, no one outside of this room should know about RangeMan's involvement, _no one_. If the information gets out there will be _serious_ repercussions, clear?" I added. There was no way I would allow RangeMan to be subjected to gossip suggesting we didn't have our clients' best interests and privacy at heart, even if most people would agree helping shut down the Capellos is the right thing to do. We've worked too hard to let our company be sullied because the FBI needed help doing its job.

Once Morelli, Berring and Denison nodded their assent the meeting ended. I gathered my notes so I could head up to the conference room on five to brief the RangeMan employees that would be a part of the operation. As I levered myself out of the comfortable office chair, I noticed Denison chatting with Babe.

"So, Stephanie, how did you get into this line of work?" Denison asked.

"Oh well, I used to be a BEA which is how I met Ranger and the guys. Turns out I'm much better at the client relations side of things here at RangeMan than actually muscling FTAs back to the pokey."

"Wow, you were a bounty hunter? I'm having a hard time picturing that" he replied, giving her a once over that lingered far to long in my opinion. Unfortunately for him, this caught the attention of the rest of the core team, all of whom tended to be a bit overprotective of Babe.

"Yeah, Bombshell here was the best. Always got her man!" Bobby added with a smirk.

"Bombshell?" Denison questioned.

"Yeah, you know, Trenton's very own Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Steph's practically a celebrity." Lester added, immune to the death glare Babe was sending his way.

"Wow, I'd love to hear about that sometime. Maybe over dinner?" Denison said hopefully.

His blatant interest must have caught Babe off-guard because she shot up off her seat and began hurriedly gathering her notes. "Oh well, thanks, but I'm not actually a fan of the moniker." Babe mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, here's my card." Denison said, thrusting a small piece of cream cardstock into Babe's hands, "give me a call sometime, I'd love to hear more about how you ended up in the security field." Well, he got points for tenacity, especially given that Morelli, Lester, Tank, Bobby and myself were eyeing him menacingly.

"Um thanks Agent Denison. Well, I'll see you guys up on five," Babe said and scuttled out of the conference room and headed down the hallway toward the sleek slate doors of the elevator.

"So, you got a thing for Cupcake?" Morelli asked Denison. "Good luck," he said before heading out of the conference room, snickering.

"You should know that here at RangeMan, we're like a family, mostly because of Little Girl, so just know that we'll be watching over her, her daughter and anyone who becomes a part of her life." Tank said leveling Denison with a glowering gaze.

"Sh-she has a daughter?" Denison asked, gulping noticeably at Tank's implied threat.

"Yeah, she does. It's new but she's pretty great at it." Bobby answered.

"Come on, its Beautiful, she's great at everything she puts her mind to." Lester added.

"Ok well, I think I'm going to head out. Agent Berring and I will be in touch." Denison said, scurrying away with averted eyes.

"I thought he was gonna piss himself when he saw the look you were shooting his way, Boss." Tank chortled as we headed to the stairwell.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to warn him that he was moving in on you, Ranger, but then I thought it'd be more fun to watch him figure it out and flounder," Lester said.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

"Okay, let's go over things before we pull in the guys that will be running security at the benefit for the Capellos." Ranger announced to Tank, Lester, Bobby and me.

"So, what's the plan for bugging the Capello estate for the Feds?" Tank asked, getting the meeting on track.

"We'll use the benefit as cover to plant bugs at the Capello's. RangeMan will be purchasing a table at the benefit, so the five of us will attend with dates and plant the wires throughout the house while an additional team of ten guys will be working security at the benefit." Ranger explained.

"Waiiit guys, how exactly to we plan to bug the Capello's during the benefit while we have dates and avoid getting caught. Not all of us are ninjas Ranger!" I exclaimed. Sure the plan sounded simple when he gave us the overview, but I'd learned the hard way things didn't always go according to the plan and it was best to prepare for contingencies and emergencies.

"You, Tank and Bobby will keep eyes on the Capello family members while Lester and I plant the listening devices throughout the Capello property."

"I get how we keep an eye out, but how will you surreptitiously escape a room full of people to skulk through the house? And with a date no less? People will notice, not to mention the Merry Men that will be working _security_ that night, which I'm sure includes making sure guests remain in the approved areas of the house." I countered.

"No worries Beautiful," Lester said, winking at me, "Ranger and I will use PDA to distract people from questioning why we're skulking about, as you put it."

"Any questions?" Ranger asked.

My attention was still focused on Lester, I was stuck on the Ranger, his date and the planned PDA which caught me unaware like a sucker punch to the gut. Luckily for me Lester could tell I needed something to shock me from my mental torpor and proceeded to regale me by flexing his left then right pectoral muscles repeatedly while wiggling his eyebrows impishly. I couldn't help the laughter that came bubbling out of my mouth.

Ranger cleared his throat quite loudly, "we're almost through this meeting, Babe, please be professional."

I snorted in response. He's the one referring to his work colleague as 'Babe' and I'm the one who isn't a professional. Double standards anyone?

Ranger did his almost smile thing, "Okay, Tank and I will meet with the guys who will be tapped for security at the benefit. Remember that no one outside of the five of us can know about the mission for the Feds," Ranger said, dismissing us. "Oh and Santos, mats at 0500."

I guess he did see Lester's peck dance. Damn that peripheral vision.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

The rest of the day went by in a flash. I had a few client meetings lined up after which I picked up Krista for a quick lunch at Pino's, which I'm sure piqued the Burg gossip mill's interest, and headed home. While Krista took a nap and then did her homework of reading and a number worksheet, I completed some paperwork and followed up with a few clients who had questions regarding their new security systems.

Krista and I fixed a dinner of salad and homemade mac and cheese (Mare was gracious enough to share her secret recipe, the secret, by the way, is a special blend of three types of cheese) and then spent the rest of the evening having a dance party in the living room and playing Wii. By 8PM we were both tuckered out. I put Krista to bed after regaling her with a story about Lady Stephanie, Sir Carlos the Brave and the Porsche chariot that both exploded and was pancaked by a garbage cart.

It's crazy how well our lives were blending together. It felt so natural to be spending time with her and I absolutely loved all of the little things we did together like fixing dinner, playing games, hearing about her day and telling her bedtime stories. It had been less than two weeks and I couldn't imagine my life without Krista. I still carried the pain of losing V and Dom, but it was dulling and being replaced by all of the memories Krista and I were making together.

I spent the rest of my evening on the phone with Becks to catch up, avoid her questions about when I planned on reading the letter V left me in her will and invite her to the RangeMan outing after she coyly asked about Lester's relationship status. I could totally see the two of them together, they were both fun-loving and laid back and would have fun together. After girl talk with Becks, I spent the next hour or so honing my fledgling Spanish skills and trying not to think about the fact that I would have to watch Ranger and a date PDA their way through the benefit and the Capello estate in a little over a week.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites and to those of you who've been reading this fanfiction. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I've enjoyed letting my imagination run wild with Mrs. Evanovich's characters.

Also, this chapter has some smut adjacent parts. Please forgive any awkwardness given the fact that this is the first time I've attempted anything of the sort. Oh and sorry if the Spanish parts are terribly translated, I did my best!

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RM POV

I was interrupted from perusing our proposal for the Capellos by an knock on my office door. "Enter," I barked out without averting my attention from the document in front of me.

"Hey Ranger, I just needed to go over some expense reports with you. Do you have time now?" Steph asked.

"Sure Babe," I responded as she rounded my desk, placed some papers in front of me and bent slightly as she explained something. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about as my attention was firmly focused on her pencil skirt clad derriere.

"Mhmm," I mumbled as I continued my lusty perusal of Babe's body. I stood up to fight the urge to pull her down into my lap and continued to pretend to pay attention by positioning myself behind her and looking over her shoulder at the document on my desk. Enthralled by her scent, I found my self slowly scooting closer and closer to her until my front was firmly pressed against her back.

"Umm, Ranger? What-um-what are you-hmmm." I effectively silenced any qualms Babe had by running my lips along the side of her neck. I used my right arm to anchor her hips roughly against mine and ran my left hand up the inside of her thigh until my fingers were able to lightly brush her satin panties. I took the moan Babe let out as consent and snatched her panties off with a flick of my wrist.

I flipped Steph around and captured her lips in a bruising kiss as both of our hands worked to free the other from the confines of our clothing. She tore my shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere and ran her hands down my chest before releasing me from my slacks. Babe was running her hands up and down my hard length when we were interrupted by my phone ringing.

"Just ignore it Carlos, please. I need you, _now_."

"I… uh… shouldn't. Never mind," I mumbled, knocking my phone off of my desk. I laid Babe on my desk and took a moment to drink in the sight. She was lightly flushed and her lips were slightly pumped from our aggressive kissing. I had ripped off her panties, skirt and blouse, leaving her in crimson stilettos and a matching lacy balconette bra, the straps of which had fallen off her shoulders due to my wandering hands and gravity.

I was just about to remove her bra when my phone rang again. "Damn it." I groused, resting my forehead against Babe's collarbone for a second. I breathed in her scent and opened my eyes to find that I was alone in bed and the offending phone ringing was really my alarm clock. _Shit_! I needed to get down to the gym for my morning workout. Thankfully I had just enough time to rub one out first because there was no way I was in any position to work out in a room full of my male employees unless I relieved some… _tension_ first.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

"Morning Ranger," I said, entering his office. "I needed you to sign off on the personnel schedule for the next month," I explained, walking towards his side of the desk to go over the documents with him.

"Wa-wait Babe. Just hand them to me." Ranger said, standing to take the papers from me. Odd, normally we go over things I needed him to okay and he's never once indicated that he didn't like for me to be on his side of the desk. Boys are so weird sometimes.

"Okay," I said, plopping down in one of the wingback guest seats across from his desk. "When are we meeting with the Capellos to go over the contract for security at the benefit?"

"We actually have to leave to meet at their Hiltonia property, where the benefit will be held, in about 15 minutes. Are you free to come with?" Ranger asked, never looking up from the paperwork I handed him.

"Sure, I have a client meeting, but it's not for a couple of hours."

"Great. And the schedule looks good. I've already had Tank call in contract workers for the day of the RangeMan outing. Any chance you'll tell me where we're going?" Ranger asked, handing me back the approved scheduling documents.

"Nope, even the boss man needs a surprise once in a while!"

"Fine, we'll do it your way for now, although you should know I have ways to make you talk." Ranger added, wolf grin firmly in place. "I'll meet you in the garage in 15?"

"Yup," I said, exiting his office.

Fifteen minutes later I was sinking into the sinfully comfortable passenger seat of Ranger's Turbo. Ranger pulled out of the underground garage and achieved his driving zone while I contemplated the merits of the Turbo. The car screamed sex with its sleek lines and mechanical superiority. It was one of those cars that made me feel compelled to immediately remove my panties upon sitting in it. Basically, it was too sexy to wear panties in. _So why am I still wearing panties?_

"Babe," Ranger groaned, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Out loud? Damn." I replied, ignoring the dark blush rapidly suffusing my cheeks and buried my nose in the contract proposal we were presenting to the Capellos.

After a brief meeting and another uncomfortable, lingering kiss to the back of my hand courtesy of Giorgio Capello, the Capellos had signed the contract without any negotiations and had given us a tour of the areas to be secured for the benefit. Additionally, Ranger had purchased a table at the benefit which consisted of ten seats indicating that I would be attending the benefit with a date I had yet to scrounge up. I was slightly disappointed that I wouldn't be attending as Ranger's plus one, although I'd never admit it. In a way though this was better, the physical part of our friendship was well and truly over and us attending the benefit with dates only proved to further cement that. Unfortunately for me, Ranger being off limits did nothing to curb his hotness.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

"Hi Krista! How was ballet?" I asked, helping Krista into her car seat.

"It was really really fun, we're working on a new dance that we're gonna do for our recital in December!" she explained excitedly. "Hi Uncle Lester! What are you doing here?"

"I missed you!" Lester replied.

Lester was scheduled to help me with my self-defense training today and since I made it the entire hour without getting taken down, he owed me ice-cream. It was a silly motivational tool the Merry Men used, but it was surprisingly effective. Ice-cream tasted so much better when I won it by sticking it to one of the guys. Of course since ice-cream was strictly against the RangeMan dietary guidelines, Ranger and Tank were unaware of the training reward system the guys had worked out for me.

"Uncle Lester is going to take us out for ice-cream!" I announced as Lester drove us towards Friendly's for our chilled treat.

"Yay!" Krista replied, clapping to fully express her excitement.

"Mhmm. Hey Krista, do you remember how to say ice-cream in Spanish?" I asked, turning in my seat to look back at Krista.

"Mmmm… I think so… it's heldo, right?" Krista said, scrunching her face as she tried to remember.

"Almost, it's helado. So how do you tell Uncle Lester that you want ice-cream?"

"Oooh, I remember. Uncle Lester-"

"Remember to say uncle in Spanish too, munchkin."

"Right. I mean si. Tio Lester, quiero helado por favor." Krista said. (Translation: I mean yes. Uncle Lester, I want ice-cream please.)

"Perfect! You're getting really good Krista!" I gushed, thankful that the daily Spanish practice was paying off.

"Guau, hermosa pequeno, como gran!" Lester added. (Translation: Wow mini-Beautiful, how great!)

"Gracias, pero que es guau?" Krista responded. (Translation: Thank you, but what is 'guau'?)

"Guau means wow. Your Spanish is pretty good kiddo. Have you and Beautiful been practicing."

"Mhmm, we practice during dinner, like I used to do with mommy and daddy." Krista explained.

"Well… any time you want to practice, you can always come to me, Tio Lester."

I shot Lester an appreciative smile for not being awkward that Krista mentioned V and Dom. I've read that it's better to talk openly about her parents so she feels comfortable asking questions and sharing how she's feeling with me. Thinking about them still hurts, but it's better than making the topic of two of the most important people in our lives taboo.

"So munchkin, what flavor do you feel like?"

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SP POV

"Wow, don't you two look lovely!" Mare exclaimed after hopping into my BMW.

"Yeah, Krista insisted on dressing up for girls night." I explained.

"See Aunt Stephie! I told you we needed to wear party dresses!" Krista added, a proud smile gracing her features. "Next Thursday you have to also, Aunt Mare. Okay?"

After demanding that we dress up for girls night (apparently dinner with the girls was _not_ a casual affair), Krista went through both of our closets to select appropriate clothing options that matched. Apparently it was something she and V would do, wear slightly matching dresses when they went places.

Krista was wearing a knee length white dress with a gossamer overlay with a pink bow that tied at her back and emphasized the empire waist. I also wove pink ribbons into Krista's braided pigtails at her insistence. I was in a white eyelet fabric summer dress that fell a few inches above my knees with a boat-neck and princess sleeves paired with pink strappy wedge sandals, a pink clutch and pink headband. I felt a little overdressed for hanging with the girls, but it made Krista happy, and well, it was kinda fun getting all dressed up for the hell of it. I mean heck, for the heck of it. (This no cussing thing was definitely kicking my a-bum, my bum.) Although compared to the skinny dark jeans, green v-neck sweater and mega-jersey hair Mare was sporting, we were a tad overdressed. On the other hand, unless my dress suddenly became see through, no one would notice me next to Lula.

"Okay Krista, I will. So, what did you two do today?" Mare asked.

"Well, I wented to school and then ballet and then Tio Lester took us to get helado, which is ice-cream in Spanish. Then we went home and I did homework while Aunt Stephie did boring work and then we got dressed up and came to pick you up!" Krista answered.

"Wow, busy day huh?"

"Mhmm," Krista agreed.

"Boring work, Steph? You know she's going to repeat that to one of her Uncles, right?" Mare said, focusing on me.

"What?! She won't, she knows it's part of girl talk, right?" I asked hurriedly.

"Sure, Steph. I'm sure a five year old can discern what information is private and could potentially get you in trouble with your dreamy boss man." Mare quipped sarcastically.

Any further questions I had were stalled when I pulled into the parking lot for Lucia's, a family friendly Mexican restaurant with live music and a dance floor.

"Okay Krista, you ready for girls night?" I asked, holding my hand out for hers.

"Yup!" she replied excitedly as we walked across the parking lot and headed into the brick building that housed some of the best Mexican food in Jersey.

"Wow, this place is gorgeous!" Mare exclaimed, taking in her surroundings.

"Mhmm," I agreed. The restaurant was incredible. The music was loud without being obnoxious and the décor was comprised of bright colors and was very festive. The walls and floor were done in neutral colors and gave the restaurant an open, airy feel. I walked up to the hostess to see if we could be seated, "Hi, reservation Connie Risolli."

"The rest of your party is already here. If you follow me, I'll take you to them," the hostess said. Within minutes we arrived at our table where Connie and Lula had already ordered Margaritas and appetizers.

Connie was wearing a black sheath dress with a red belt and black mary jane pumps and Lula had changed from her business casual look to her usual colorful self. Tonight she was in a neon orange and yellow striped mini dress with matching heels and accessories. Like I said, I'd have to be literally naked to draw attention away from Lula's fabulous self.

"Shi-" Lula began.

"Language!" I yelped, hoping that Lula would be able to curb her colorful vocabulary.

"Sorry! Shoot white girl! You clean up nice!" Lula said, nodding in approval at my attire.

"I picked out Aunt Stephie's dress Aunt Lula!" Krista announced.

"Well you did really good! I shoulda known Steph didn't dress herself when she showed up in something other than jeans or work clothes."

"Hey, I can dress up when the occasion warrants it!" I complained.

"Yeah, but somehow you never think us girls are a good enough reason to step it up in the wardrobe department." Connie replied.

"Eh.., you might be right. So munchkin, what do you feel like eating?"

"Mmmm, I want enchiladas!" Krista answered.

"Sounds good. I think I'm gonna have the tacos," I added.

"Oooh yeah, they have awesome tacos here." Lula added. "That's what I had when I came with Tank a few weeks ago."

"Aunt Stephie, let's go dance!" Krista said, getting out of her seat and tugging on my hand.

"Okay, munchkin," I said, getting out of my seat. "Mare, will you order for us please?" I asked as I let Krista lead us towards the dance floor. I was definitely ready for a let loose kind of girls night!

"Sure thing Steph! But you have to tell us about the FBI guy Becks said hit on you when you get back!" Mare replied, toasting us.

"What! You been holding out on us white girl!" Lula exclaimed.

I waved her off and joined Krista in dancing to what I think was an Enrique Iglesias song.

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RM POV

I headed into Forte, a popular bar in Newark. After this morning's smutty dream and spending the entire meeting with the Capellos trying to ignore how sinful Babe looked with her suit clinging perfectly to her curves, I was in desperate need of a non-solitary release. And I really needed to bang Babe out of my dreams.

I drank in my surroundings and the women with one-night-stand potential as I made my way to the bar. "Jack Daniels on the rocks," I said to the bartender. Once I had my drink, I turned around to face the other patrons while leaning back against the bar.

Forte was a popular location for young professionals that were above average attractiveness. As I looked around the black and red dramatically decorated bar I noticed several women eyeing me. One in particular caught my attention. She was close to 6 ft in her sky-high stilettos, platinum blond hair, overly tan skin and a killer body. I've always been an ass man and unfortunately her's wasn't quite in the same league as Babe's, but her likely fake rack more than made up for it.

I stalked towards Blondie and her friends, never breaking eye contact. I could tell from the look of lust clouding her eyes that it would only take a few minutes of dreaded small talk to get an invite back to her place.

Two orgasms and roughly ninety minutes later I was headed back to my building on Haywood. While the sex was enjoyable, there was something missing. As loathe as I was to admit it, the thing that was missing was Babe. I hadn't really grasped the 'empty sex' comment Babe made when we discussed the end of our friends with benefits arrangement, but I completely understood her now. Sex with Babe was more than a purely physical release. Being with her satisfied the very core of me, she was a balm for my tattered soul.

Shit, I thought as I realized what was different about being with Babe, sex with Babe was making love. I, Ranger Manoso, badass extraordinaire, had made love with my Babe and anything else was a pale imitation that would do nothing to satisfy my needs.

I drove the rest of the way to RangeMan on autopilot while dissecting my couplings with Babe, never quite achieving my zone.

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SP POV

If felt like this Friday was just barely crawling by. I couldn't wait 'til noon to celebrate Krista's first week of school. We'd planned to meet Mare and her kids at the park for a picnic lunch. I really wanted to make it special for Krista, for both of us really.

I was looking over some new customer contracts when I was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," I called out, looking up to see Ranger enter.

He shut the door behind himself and sat down in one of the blue damask covered guest chairs across from me. "Babe, I need you to look over the background checks run so far for the Capello's benefit." Ranger said, explaining his presence.

"Have the searches turned up anything yet?"

"So far we found a couple catering staff members that have connections to people injured and displaced by the recent Capello apartment building fire, so they'll be replaced. Note anything that needs to be investigated further. I trust your instincts to make sure things go smoothly."

"Th-thanks Ranger" I stuttered, caught off-guard by his confidence in my and the bruising on his neck. Ranger 'I'm always in control' Manoso had a hickey! "I appreciate the vote of confidence." I said, trying to avoid staring at his marked neck.

Thinking about Ranger with another woman and moving on definitely hurt, but only further emphasized the fact that we were looing for different things and that I absolutely needed to move on. No more daydreaming about what could've been, I needed to recognize how things actually were and get on with my life. Maybe I'd give Agent Denison a call once the Capello case was closed.

"Okay, I'm heading to a meeting with Marchesi's Jewelers in a bit, they had an alarm tripped last night and I wanted to stop by to smooth any ruffled feathers." Ranger said.

"Oh no, was anything stolen?" I asked, worried. I had met with the Marchesi family several times while hammering out the details of their contract with RangeMan and had come to like them very much.

"Nothing was stolen, the alarm seemed to have startled the thieves away, but I still want to go in person to check on things."

"I think that's a good idea, they'll appreciate the personal touch. I'll call them on Monday to make sure things are still going well and that they're satisfied with our service, although I can't imagine them not being so."

"Babe," Ranger said, nodding as he stood from my plush office guest chair and headed towards the door.

Crap, Ranger was going to meet with a very lucrative account holder with a hickey. I had to say something, right?

"Um Ranger, really quick before you leave… It uh… looks like you bit yourself shaving," I said, gesturing toward angry bruise on his neck. "You may want to cover that up before you meet with the Marchesis." I added, willing myself not to break eye contact despite achieving what must be a new level of blushing judging from the heat I felt in my face.

"Babe," Ranger said with a grimace as his hand flew up to inspect the hickey. He quickly turned on his heel a marched out of my office.

I spent the rest of the morning meeting with prospective clients then grabbed the Capello files Ranger had dropped of earlier to look over at home before heading out for my picnic date with Krista, Mare and her boys. The day was definitely looking up!

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AN: Sorry to anyone who's disappointed that Ranger got his dirty on with some random chic. I promise if you stick with it there will be a Babe HEA.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you for all of your feedback and continued support! I really appreciate it. And sorry for the delay with getting this chapter out.

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SP POV

"Come on Krista, just a little bit more!" I cheered excitedly as Krista kicked her way towards me in the Trenton Swim Club pool while holding onto a purple and black checkered foam kickboard.

"Way to go!" I heard Roshni exclaim next to me as Swati made it into her arms.

Swati and Krista's friendship blossomed quickly and after the past hour of my first Mommy and Me swimming class, Swati's mom and I splashed our way to becoming fast friends as well.

"Aunt Stephie, I made it!" Krista said excitedly, hooking one arm around my neck. "Did you see how fast I was this last time?"

"I did, you were very speedy. All of you were!" I said as we exchanged high-fives.

"Mhmm girls, that was really impressive," Ethan, the only Dad at the class, added. Ethan was about 6ft with light brown hair, hazel eyes, with an incredibly charming dimple and lean yet muscular physique. He was also very, very gay. Not the 'over-the-top fabulous diva' kind of gay but more of a 'guy's guy who happens to like guys' kind of gay.

His daughter, Amelia, attended The Milano Academy with Krista and Swati and went to the same ballet class as Krista. That in tandem with the fact that she was adopted and had a single parent and Amelia and Krista had tons in common and a rapidly blossoming friendship.

"Alright," I said, seating Krista on the pool ledge and lifting my now svelte body (courtesy of mandatory gym time stipulated by my RangeMan employment contract) out of the pool. "How about we all go get showered and changed quickly then go get an early lunch?"

"Yay," cried the three girls as we all headed towards the locker rooms.

A quick half hour later and we were all seated at Pita Pit, a popular Mediterranean restaurant.

"So Ethan, what do you do?" Roshni asked while the girls carried on their own conversation after we had all placed our orders.

"I own The Sports Zone. We sell sporting equipment and have a few locations throughout the North East." Ethan answered amid bites of pita dipped in hummus.

"Oh wow, that place is great! I went there with my friend Mary Lou to get her boys stuff for little league and to outfit the RangeMan intramural touch football team." I added.

"So you work at RangeMan? The security company?" Ethan asked, slightly surprised.

"Yeah, I work mostly with customers and help manage the office, are you looking to upgrade your security system?" I asked, ever eager to drum up business for RangeMan. What?! I can't help it if we're the best!

"Actually, I am. The firm I'm currently with will be increasing their prices if I choose to renew my contract without offering any additional services." Ethan replied, raking a hand frustratedly through his hair.

"Wow, you get more done on Saturday mornings than most people do during a full work day!" Roshni chortled.

"I can't help it, we're the best and I want people to benefit from our service!" I said, laughing.

"I can't argue with that, my husband and I have a RangeMan security system at our home and we've been really impressed so far." Roshni agreed, serving as my unofficial spokesperson.

"Ethan, I can schedule a meeting to go over what we offer and what your needs are on Monday, if that works for you?"

"Monday would be great. How about 10AM?"

"Sounds great." I replied after checking my schedule on my phone.

"Aunt Stephie," Krista said, clamoring for my attention.

"Mhmm munchkin, what is it?"

"I was telling Swati and Amelia about the awesome picnic we had yesterday with Aunt Mare and all of the fun we had at the park, and they want to come with us next time." Krista announced with nods of excited agreement from her friends.

"Well I think that is a great idea. How about we plan another picnic for this Friday?" I asked Ethan and Roshni.

"That sounds great, I could definitely use a long lunch break by the time Friday rolls around!" Ethan agreed.

"Mom, can we go too?" Swati asked Roshni, her plea complete with dark puppy dog eyes.

"Of course sweetheart, that sounds perfect."

"Yay!" the three girls echoed and began talking excitedly amongst themselves while Ethan, Roshni and I decided who would bring what for our Friday picnic. It was looking like Krista and I had started a new Friday picnic tradition.

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Helen Plum POV

"Plum residence, this is Helen speaking," I answered the phone, hoping that it wasn't another Burg busybody calling with regard to the latest embarrassing disaster attributed to my younger daughter. I couldn't take another person calling to express their shock over Stephanie's sudden parenthood and what Stephanie and her _daughter_ had been seen doing around town.

"Hello Helen, this is Margaret Smith. How is everything going?"

"Unfortunately nothing has really changed. Stephanie is as stubborn as ever and seems unwilling to relinquish custody of Krista." I explained, moving into the Kitchen so as to avoid being overheard by my mother. She was telling all of her friends at the Clip n' Curl how proud she was of Stephanie for stepping up and changing her life for Krista. I swear, she goes against me just to be contrary.

"Yes, I was afraid of that. Unfortunately I haven't had any luck pursuing legal action. Also, Stephanie's inspection by Child Protective Services went annoyingly well and they have been informed of our attempt to provide… incentive for her to do the right thing and give up her custody." Margaret added in a clipped tone.

Clearly she was getting as frustrated with this situation as I was. Although if anyone had the right to be annoyed it was me. My daughter was giving up her future with Joseph or another eligible Burg bachelor to raise _her _granddaughter. Ridiculous. The whole situation was ridiculous.

"I see, that makes things difficult for us." I said.

"Yes well, I was wondering if you had any ideas for how we could rectify the situation."

"Aside from waiting for Stephanie to realize that she is in over her head, I have no suggestions. Unfortunately, waiting for her to see reason could take a while, she is quite stubborn." I answered.

"That's what I was thinking as well. Is there a friend of hers who we could use to help her see things from our perspective?" Margaret asked.

"Well, unfortunately most of her friends seem to be supportive and proud of Stephanie for changing her life to raise Krista. But, my other daughter, Valerie, may be able to help us."

"Wonderful! Hopefully Stephanie will accept advice from her sister that she was unwilling to accept from us."

"I think it may just work. After all, Valerie is older and has experience raising children so she'll be able to explain how Stephanie is not ready for the responsibility of taking care of Krista." I added, excited that the nightmare of Stephanie's sudden single parenthood may be coming to an end.

"Thank you Helen. Please call me to let me know how it goes."

"Absolutely. Good-bye." I said, hanging up the phone and immediately dialing Valerie to put our new plan in motion.

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SP POV

"Okay munchkin, how does this look?" I asked Krista after I finished curling her thick, silky hair.

"Perfect Aunt Stephie!" Krista exclaimed, adding a final adjustment to her faux-pearl encrusted headband.

We both stood in front of the full-length mirror on the inside of my closet door and admired our reflections. Krista was wearing a knee-length light pink dress with princess sleeves and cream beading that matched her headband and a cream ribbon that tied at her waist. She had paired it with cream tights, cream ballet flats and a light pink purse with a string of faux-pearls as a shoulder strap. She was absolutely perfect and literally glowing with excitement for our trip to the ballet in NYC. Well, part of the glow was a result of the bronzer I'd lightly brushed on her because she had asked me if she could wear some makeup for the occasion when I was applying my face-paint.

Krista wanted us to match, so I was wearing a dress with a cream, sequined overlay over a light pink slip that hit a few inches above my knees with a flirty skirt, cinched waist and flutter sleeves. I accessorized with cluster drop pearl earrings and a matching bracelet that I had bought for Mare's wedding and skin tone 5in platform stilettos. Luckily my hair had cooperated and was down in a halo of soft, romantic curls. I nodded at our reflections, announced us perfect and we headed out after taking a few pictures.

"Aunt Stephie, are we there yet?" Forty-five minutes into the drive and several games of eye-spy, and Krista was getting a bit antsy.

"Almost munchkin, we only have about 30 more minutes."

"I'm bo-red" Krista replied in a sing-song voice.

"I know. How about you call Daddy's parents and tell them what we're up to today?"

"Okay! I haven't talked to Grandma and Grandpa in a while. I can tell them about the ballet and how we're going to a fancy, grown-up dinner afterwards!"

"And don't forget to tell them how pretty you look tonight," I added, dialing Dom's parents and handing the phone back to Krista who was snuggly seated in her car-seat.

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SP POV

"Ooh, look, a fountain!" Krista exclaimed as we passed a circular fountain on our way into the NYC Ballet.

"You wanna make a wish?" I asked her, glad that we'd arrived a several minutes early for the 3pm matinee performance.

"Mhmm. But how?"

"Well," I began, fishing two quarters out of my cream, satin clutch, "you close your eyes and think of your wish and then throw this quarter into the fountain." I explained, placing a quarter in her outstretched hand.

"Okay, let's do it."

Both of us stopped, facing the fountain, closed our eyes and made our wishes. I wished that I would be enough for Krista and able to do justice to the memory of V and Dom and measured up to incredible parents they were. Sure, it was a tall order for a quarter, but it was really one big, multifaceted wish, so I figured one coin would cover it.

"Okay munchkin, you ready to head in?" I asked her, holding my hand out for her to grasp.

"Yup," she said, tossing her quarter into the fountain and taking my hand.

We passed between two large hexagonal white pillars and headed into the NYC Ballet. We handed our tickets to an usher who pointed us towards a wide, crimson-carpeted staircase and told us to enter through balcony door G. Krista and I headed up to our balcony seats, taking in everything with twin expressions of awe adorning our faces.

We were seated on plush, red seats in the front row of a private balcony booth that seated four just left of center. Once seated, we opened up the program booklet that introduced the NYC Ballet and several of the performers in today's Cinderella performance. We oohed and aahed over the program until the lights dimmed and the thick, scarlet curtain was raised.

Three hours later, we exited the NYC Ballet amid a mass of fellow patrons excitedly discussing the amazing performance we just experienced.

"Wow, Aunt Stephie! I'm so glad we came. That was amaaaazing!" Krista gushed, holding my hand and sporting a grin that seemed on the verge of splitting her face.

"I know, it was beautiful. I've never been to a professional ballet performance before." I replied, as we headed down the staircase, holding onto Krista and the rich, mahogany banister.

"Me neither, this was my first one too!"

"Well I'm glad we got to go together munchkin. So tell me, what was your favorite part?" I asked, glad that Krista and I had the chance to make this memory together yet sad that V and Dom were missing it.

"I think I like the part where Cinderella goes to the ball the best. She was sooo pretty and the dancing was awesome!" Krista answered.

"Mhmm. That part was great, but I think I like the part where Cinderella's fairy godmother transforms her for the ball." I added. Well, I liked that part but what was _most_ impressive were the muscles on all of the dancers. Some could give the Merry Men a run for their money. Seriously! I needed to bring Grandma Mazur next time, she'd really appreciate every muscle and bulge the tights highlighted.

"That part was pretty awesome too." Krista agreed.

"So," I began as we finally managed to exit the NYC Ballet building, surrounded by throngs of fellow ballet fans, "ready for our fancy, grown-up dinner?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, let's just get someone to take a quick picture of us in front of the fountain, and we'll be on our way!"

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SP POV

After moaning my way through an incredibly delicious meal at Café Fiorello, across the street from the NYC Ballet, a very sleepy Krista and I headed back to Trenton. After gushing over our amazing Saturday and a few rounds of eye-spy, Krista fell asleep leaving me to singing to a Madonna CD and thinking about how natural things between Krista and I felt. I never thought I'd spend a Saturday at a Mommy and Me swimming class and NYC for ballet and dinner and be beyond satisfied. It was a perfect day, and it was because of Krista. Seeing things through her eyes transformed the world into a collection of awe-worthy experiences, and I couldn't wait to see more.

Unfortunately, I was rudely interrupted from my reverie by my phone ringing. I saw Valerie's name on the display and decided to answere, mainly out of curiosity. Val and I weren't really close sisters, she was always Saint Valerie who could do no wrong in my parents' eyes, even when her philandering husband left her penniless or when she god knocked up by Kloughn out of wedlock. We didn't really keep in touch independent of running into each other at my parents' house for the occasional, obligatory meal, so I was curious as to whether she was calling on our parents' behalf or if she was extending an olive branch to hopefully bolster our relationship now that we had a bit more in common.

"Hello," I answered.

"Hi Steph, how's it going?"

"Krista and I are on our way home from NYC. You?"

"NYC?! You up and took a five year-old to NYC? Steph, the city's not safe! How irresponsible can you be?!" Val exclaimed.

Well, I guess that answers why she was calling. Clearly she's been collaborating with Helen Plum.

"The city is safe, we went to the Ballet and dinner, not to hang out under an overpass Val. Sheesh." I explained.

"Oh, well, how was I supposed to know."

"You're right, the first thing I think when someone goes to NYC with a minor is hanging with winos." I replied sarcastically.

"Right, anyways, I was just calling about Krista." Val said.

"What about Krista?" I asked in a clipped tone.

"Well, I've talked to Mom, and she's right. You need to stop with all the drama and being stubborn and do the right thing, for you and for Krista. You're clearly not parent material, not now at least."

"Val, you don't know a thing about me aside from the lies spewed by the Burg, Mom and the Trenton Gazette's hyperbolic articles regarding the Bombshell Bounty Hunter."

"Yeah, well, you don't know anything about being a parent. You're a walking disaster. I've had years of experience whereas you can barely keep your rat alive!"

"Rex is a hamster and I am NOT a disaster. Oh, and if your _cuddle frumpkins_ is grown-up and responsible enough to parent not one but four children, I think I can handle one."

"Don't you talk about Albert like that!"

"Well Val, you married a clown, what did you expect!" I replied. It was a cheap shot, sure, but she was pissing me off.

"You're in waaay over your head Steph. You should do like Mom and Mrs. Smith say and give up your custody rights for the payout the Smiths offered."

"Excuse me?!" I whisper yelled. "Children are NOT paydays." I gritted out and hung up. There was no way I was finishing my conversation with Val. There was no point talking to a Helen Plum clone and I really didn't want to accidently cuss in front of Krista, even if she was asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you for all of your feedback and continued support, I really appreciate it. And sorry these last couple of chapters have been so short.

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SP POV

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty," I said in a sing-song voice as I woke Krista up. "We've got a lot to do today!"

"Mkay Aunt Stephie, I'm waking up," replied a sleepy voice.

"Alright, you get in the shower and get dressed and I'll make us something awesome for breakfast. Hop to it!" I said, dropping a kiss on Krista forehead and ambling out to the sunny kitchen.

By the time I'd finished making the chocolate chip pancakes (one of the surprisingly easy recipes Ella gave me) Krista was dressed in blue capris with a blue and white paisley top.

"So," I said, heaping a couple pancakes with some whipped cream and strawberries onto Krista's plate, "are you ready for our Sunday morning date at the dog pound?"

"Mhmm, I can't wait to play with the puppies!" Krista answered. "Mmmm these are sooo yummy!"

"Thanks munchkin," I mumbled around a huge bite of pancakes smothered in syrup, "I used Aunt Ella's recipe."

"Are we gonna help Aunt Ella cook today again?" Krista asked.

"Yup, we're going to make fancy macaroni and cheese and tiramisu for dessert, its like a coffee cake but way better."

"Yum! I can't wait."

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SP POV

"So baby granddaughter, how is your weekend going so far?" Grandma Mazur asked us after we had received our lunch orders at El Cantina.

"Well, we volunteered at the pound this morning and played with puppies, but the real excitement was yesterday. Munchkin, you want to tell Grandma Mazur where we went Saturday?" I asked Krista while helping her situate her napkin over her lap.

"Oh Grandma Mazur, we wented to the ballet in New York City yesterday to see Cinderella. It was sooo pretty and sooo much fun."

"Wow you did! That sounds very exciting!" Grandma Mazur replied, taking a break from her mega-margarita. "I think me and my new honey here need to go to the ballet sometime too," she said, nudging her date lightly with her elbow. Grandma Mazur met her new beau, Harold, at bingo at the senior center.

"Mhmm, and then we went to have a fancy, grown-up dinner also!" Krista announced proudly. "Oh and we went swimming yesterday morning too!"

"Wow, you ladies have been quite busy!" Harold observed.

"Mhmm Mister Harold, we have been. Oh and Aunt Stephie said that we could maybe get a puppy if we move into a house with a yard!"

"She did, did she," Grandma Mazur replied, shooting me a knowing look. What, I couldn't be blamed if I caved in the face of Krista's semi-moist puppy dog eyes and pout, I doubt anyone could stand up to that kind of pressure.

"So, what have you and Harold been up to Grandma?" I asked, reinforcing my reign as queen of the awkward segue.

"Well, Harold and I are going to spend a long weekend in Atlantic City starting this Thursday!" Grandma Mazur announced excitedly.

"Yeah, I even got us some tickets to a show!" Harold said, mirroring Grandma Mazur's excitement.

"Oh and we're going to the mall to buy some fun things for our trip! Some lingerie, massage oils and toys. We can pick you up something too, if you decide to give that hunk Ranger with the nice package another shot." Grandma Mazur added, shooting a wink my way.

Oh boy. Well, at least she didn't say vibrator, I'd have a hell of a time explaining that to Krista.

"Thanks Grandma Mazur, but I think I'll pass for now." I mumbled.

"So, how will you and Krista be spending the rest of the day?" Harold asked.

"Well, we're going shopping with Lula because she and I both need dresses for the Homeless Shelter Benefit this coming weekend." I replied.

"And we're gonna learn how to make fancy mac and cheese and tirmsue from Aunt Ella!" Krista announced.

"Mhmm, but its tiramisu munchkin," I added.

"Wow baby granddaughter. You're willingly learning how to cook? I can't wait to tell Helen! Speaking of whom, I think I need to pay a visit to the little girls' room, want to join me?" Grandma Mazur said with a knowing look, usurping me as queen of the awkward segue.

"Um… sure Grandma Mazur," I said, rising from my seat. "Krista, don't leave the table til I get back, okay?"

"Okay, Aunt Stephie." Krista said, digging into her tacos.

After Grandma Mazur hustled us to the ladies room and checked to make sure we were the only occupants, she filled me in about the goings on at my parents' house. "So, it turns out aside from asking Val to help persuade you to see things their way, Helen and Margaret are out of moves. But I'll keep an eye out for any new developments," Grandma Mazur explained.

"Thank goodness, I'm glad their all out of ideas, especially with my second visit from CPS tomorrow."

"Mhmm, and I'm so proud of you for thinking to record their despicable offer to pay you to walk away from that precious girl, it definitely messed up their plans!"

"Yeah, I think it came from years of working as a BEA and the last few months of working at RangeMan."

"Well, I just want you to know how proud I am of you. For being there for Krista and doing the right thing even though my daughter is too selfish to realize it and support you."

"Thank you Grandma Mazur, I'm so grateful that I can always count on you for unwavering support. It means more to me than I can say," I replied, blinking rapidly to avoid tears. I guess I didn't know how much I needed someone I looked up to in a parental capacity telling me I was doing the right thing and that they were behind me.

"Anytime, baby granddaughter. You've always been my favorite. Not like Val who must be constantly uncomfortable, what with Helen's hand far enough up her patoot to puppet her mouth!" Grandma replied, brushing off our heartfelt moment in true Mazur-Plum fashion.

"Well, she's probably used to it by now, it's been over 30 years!" I chortled as we headed back to our table.

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Lula POV

"White girl, how does it look?" I asked my friend who was currently struggling with gown at Lord and Taylor. We'd spent the last two hours scouring the Quaker Bridge Mall searching for formal wear for the Homeless Shelter Benefit on Saturday.

Luckily I found my gown, shoes and accessories at Macy's, our first stop. Unfortunately, Steph wasn't faring nearly as well. She struck out at Macy's, Cache and it seemed like she was going to be 0 for 3 judging by her reaction to the gowns so far at Lord and Taylor.

Aside from finding a killer dress that was sure to drive Tank crazy, the high point was when Steph and I discovered our dress sizes had gone down courtesy of our new diet. We were on the 'gainful full time employment' diet which rendered two hour lunches and fast food snacks every hour or so obsolete.

"Okay, I'm coming out," Steph announced while exiting her dressing room to stand in front of the full length mirror where Krista and I were seated. "So, what do you think?" Steph was wearing a floor length empire waisted bronze strapless gown with a black velvet mesh and lace overlay. It was a very pretty dress, but unfortunately it did nothing to enhance her physical attributes.

"Well, white girl, the dress is fine, but it's just not _the one_. It does nothin' for your assets. Sorry. What do you think Krista?"

"Hmm… I don't know, it looks okay I guess. But I think Aunt Lula's right, it's not the one." Krista replied, agreeing with me. I knew I liked that kid.

"Guys, this is the last dress we picked out. What am I going to do if I can't find a dress?" Steph asked, a slight panic infusing her voice.

"I'm not sure, Steph. We could always try the Prince of Prussia Mall," I suggested

"Yeah, that could work. Maybe I could head there Tuesday or something. I just really wanted to find my dress today…"

"Aunt Stephie, what about your friends with the fancy dress shop that we visited?" Krista asked.

"Oh yeah, Sognare. That's a perfect idea munchkin!" Steph exclaimed, swinging Krista up into a bear hug.

"Girl, you been holdin' out on me! You know the owners of Sgnare? That shop is the shi-stuff. It's the stuff!" I replied, thankful that I managed to catch myself before introducing Krista to the colorful world of swearing.

"Well I don't really know them, but RangeMan does security for their Newark location, so I've met the owners."

"Well shoot girl, let's go!" I exclaimed, shoving Steph back into her dressing room to get changed so we could head out.

An hour later, we were greeted by a soft chime as we entered Sognare. The shop was gorgeous. There were mannequins and beautiful gowns everywhere and fancy tri-fold mirrors at the back for customers to get the full effect of the items they tried on. We had just started looking through the dresses when we were greeted by one of the owners.

"Ciao Stephanie, what brings you by today?"

"Ciao Gianna," Steph replied. "This is my friend Lula and you remember Krista. Lula, this is Gianna, one of the owners of Sognare. We're here looking for a gown for the Homeless Shelter Benefit this coming weekend."

"Nice to meet you," I said, taking in the well-tailored slip of a woman in front of us.

"Likewise. So, did you have anything specific in mind?" Gianna asked.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. I would like something in a sapphire or cobalt blue." Steph said.

"And we were looking for something to make Batman rethink his no relationship stance," I interjected.

"Lula!" Steph exclaimed, blushing slightly.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. Since she's committed to moving on from Ranger, she could at least use the benefit as an excuse to get gussied up and find a new squeeze if she didn't want to get Ranger's engine revving. Either way, she needed a killer dress.

"I have just the dress for you, it's one of Caterina's new designs. Follow me," Gianna announced, weaving through the mannequins and hung gowns. She stopped in front of a bodrum blue backless, floor length silk charmeus dress with a plunging V-neckline and a slit up the side that would fall at Steph's upper thigh. "What do you think?"

"Wow, it's perfect," Steph whispered in awe.

"Aunt Stephie, it's sooo pretty!"

"Da-darn, it is perfect," I added.

"Well then, let's head over to the dressing rooms so you can try this on!" Gianna said with a genuine smile as she corralled us towards the back of the boutique.

Krista and I sat on the white and aqua pouf cushion seats as Steph tried on the gown. A few minutes later she stepped up on the circular platform in front of the tri-fold gilt mirror to check out how the dress fit. It was perfect, sure to drive a certain man of mystery wild. The dress clung to and amplified her curves and flowed seamless with her movements. It also enhanced the color of her eyes making them seem even bluer while providing a sharp contrast to her alabaster skin tone.

"Aunt Stephie, you look just like a princess!" Krista gushed.

"White girl, this is perfect for Saturday. Batman is going to flip!" I added.

"You think? I'm not sure, it shows a lot of skin…"

"It's perfect, you have to get it white girl." I said, assuaging Steph's doubts.

"Alright then, let me just get changed and we'll check out. Thanks guys!" Steph said, taking one last look in the mirror before traipsing back to the dressing room.

:::::::::::::::

Tank POV

Crap, I thought, judging by the look in Lula's eye and the set of her jaw we're going to have a serious conversation about something before we could move on to the more enjoyable part of our date. I sighed and decided to face it headfirst. Hopefully we'd be done discussing whatever was on her mind by the time we got to Rossini's. "Lula, honey, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! Well, I spent the day shopping for the benefit with Steph and apparently she's not going with Ranger, that's what's wrong. Steph is hell bent on moving on and doing what's right for Krista. What I want to know is why won't Batman get his head out of his ass and realize that he loves Steph and that they're good together."

"Ranger's complicated, and he's doing what he thinks is right. Besides, he's not really one for long-term relationships," I said, hoping that Lula would accept my placation.

"I call bullshit! Ranger and Steph were in a relationship, and from what I could tell, he was happy with her. Sure things have changed a little with Krista in the picture now, but that doesn't mean that those two are any less right for each other!"

"Lula, Ranger's made up his mind, what do you expect me to do?" I asked, exasperatedly.

"Well, I want you to do whatever it takes to make him understand that she is moving on. She's genuine and funny and caring and won't be single forever, waiting for Ranger to realize what he wants. Hell, beat it into him if you have to, just make him get over his shit and step up!"

"Lula, honey, I talked to him after he got back about Steph. I told him he either needed to step up or step away. I can't help it if he decided to step away and let Steph move on with her life."

"It takes a _real_ man to admit that he needs someone. And Ranger _needs_ Steph, he's just too scared and stubborn to admit it!"

I never thought I'd see the day when someone pegged Ranger 'Badass' Manoso as a coward. And I absolutely never thought I'd be in agreement. It must be getting mighty frigid in hell. "How about I talk to him about it, see if I can make him realize what he's walking away from?"

"I guess that would be okay. Although I'm still for beating it into him, if talking doesn't work." Lula replied.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks for all of the kind words and reviews and to everyone who's been sticking with the story so far. Hope this next chapter keeps you entertained!

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Connie POV

"Morning," I greeted as I plopped into my red vinyl seat across from Steph at Star Diner. "I can't believe you beat me here Steph."

"Well Krista was very excited for school today because they're taking a fieldtrip to the zoo. She was awake and ready almost 20 minutes early today!" Steph explained.

"Awww, do you remember when we used to be excited to go to school?" I said as we both let out sighs and reminisced.

"Y'all white people crazy. I was never excited to go to school. Although my school was probably a lot rougher than your upper-middle class school was." Lula replied, shaking her head causing her pink and chestnut colored locks to sway back and forth.

"Yeah well, I'm actually kinda worried about the zoo fieldtrip. Krista's looking forward to seeing the unicorns and I'm not sure how to explain to her that they're not real." Steph explained with a pained look on her face.

"That's awesome! I'm totally with Krista, unicorns would be the shit!" Lula replied grinning.

"Yeah, they would be awesome. Maybe you can just explain that they're make believe like fairy tales and the Wizard of Oz and stuff." I suggested, trying not to laugh at Steph's ridiculous predicament.

"That might work. Thanks Connie."

"So," I began after we had placed our orders, "what did you guys do this weekend?" I asked.

"Well, Sunday Steph, Krista and I went shopping." Lula said amid bites of her breakfast burrito.

"And you went without me!" I said, feigning a shocked expression.

"Lula and I needed dresses for the Homeless Shelter Benefit this Saturday," Steph explained.

"Oooh, so what did you get?" I asked eagerly.

"Well, mine has one shoulder strap with ruffles and beading that is more dense at the bottom and thins out towards the top. The color goes from burgundy at the bottom to red, orange and finally goldish at the top," Lula explained excitedly. "It makes the girls look amaaazing," she said, shimmying incase I was confused as to what the girls were.

"Don't forget the shoes," Steph reminded.

"You guys went shoe shopping without me!" I huffed.

"Ya well, just be glad you didn't have to traipse through the mall waiting on miss picky here to find a dress." Lula grumbled.

"Hey, you were the one that said I had to keep trying things on until we found _the_ dress!" Steph retorted.

"So what does _the_ dress look like?" I asked curiously.

"It's a backless bodrum blue silk charmeus gown with a deep V-neck and slit up the side." Steph said.

"Basically its very va-va-voom," Lula summarized.

"Really, and did you pick it with a certain man in black in mind?" I teased.

"What, no!" Steph exclaimed, blushing slightly and staring into her half finished plate of French toast.

"Ha, you're blushing, you totally bought it with Ranger in mind!" I said.

"She didn't, but I definitely think it will make him take notice and rethink his stupid no relationship rule." Lula clarified.

"Wait, so you're not going with Ranger? I thought you were both attending as part of RangeMan." I asked.

"Well, RangeMan bought a table which seats 10. So I'm going along with the core team, which is Ranger, Tank, Lester and Bobby, and our dates," Stephanie explained, still focused intently on her plate.

"Oh, I see. So who are you thinking of going with?" I gently asked Steph.

"I'm not sure, it's definitely last minute, so I was thinking instead of a date-date, I would just ask a friend to go with me."

"Well girl, you'd better get on that because he'll have to rent a tux and get you a corsage and shit." Lula replied.

"It's not the prom Lula, there are no corsages!" I corrected, laughing at my friend's expectations.

"I don't care, Tank already knows that I expect a corsage, especially if he wants some special lovin' that night!"

"Okay, fine. Back to you, Steph. Any prospects?" I asked. We proceeded to dissect Steph's date options for Saturday as we finished our breakfasts.

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SP POV

I met Ethan at the front desk which was currently being manned by Hal. After a quick introduction, I walked Ethan over to the client conference room. We slipped inside and each took a seat in one of the comfortable office chairs at the rich, ovular oak table.

"Ethan, I'm so glad you could come in today." I said.

"Same here. I'm hopeful that RangeMan will be a good fit for The Sports Zone," Ethan replied with a smile.

"Well, lucky for you RangeMan provides a variety of security packages, each of which can be customized, so I'm confident that we can find something to fit your needs."

"Sounds great!" Ethan said enthusiastically.

"So, why don't we start by going over your needs and The Sports Zone's blueprints," I suggested.

"Okay," Ethan said just as the conference room door opened to reveal Ranger in his RangeMan uniform of black cargo pants, painted on RangeMan t-shirt, shit-kicking boots and a his personal arsenal.

"Ranger, this is Ethan Miller, a fellow parent at The Milano Academy and potential client, Ethan, this is Ranger Manoso, CEO of RangeMan," I said by way of introductions.

"Nice to meet you," Ethan said, shaking Ranger's outstretched hand and earning a slight head nod from Ranger in response.

Despite the air of nonchalance Ranger was aiming for, there was an undercurrent of pugnacity he was exuding. In fact, he had been doing so since I mentioned the meeting with Ethan at this morning's 9AM meeting. Curious. Although jealous Ranger was becoming trite. Especially since he had no intention of rectifying the situation by rendering his jealousy unnecessary by revoking his 'no relationship' stance.

"Ranger, we were just about to go over blueprints for The Sports Zone and discuss its security needs," I explained as I helped Ethan to unfurl the blueprints he brought onto the conference room table.

"It sounds like you have everything in hand Babe, let me know if you need any help," Ranger said with a parting squeeze to my shoulder that didn't go unnoticed by Ethan. Unfortunately Ethan also picked up on the _babe_ and full body scan Ranger gave me that lingered.

"Well, he's fun," Ethan quipped with a smile highlighting his charming dimple.

"He's just… intense."

"So what's the deal with all the black? I'm feeling a bit out of place here," Ethan asked, surveying the blue button down collared shirt he had paired with khaki pants.

"Well, black is kinda the RangeMan uniform. Luckily I have special dispensation to wear color," I said, pointing to the sea foam green silk blouse I had paired with black slacks.

"Yeah," Ethan laughed forcedly, "but what's the deal with you two? Because I sensed some definite hostility from him."

"It's… complicated." I said, trying not to over-share with one of Krista's friend's parents despite my initial impression of Ethan. I had instantly liked Ethan and trusted him as a friend, especially since my spidey senses were at bay around him.

"And?" Ethan motioned for me to continue.

"Well, he was my mentor when I first started as a bounty hunter. Anyhow, as our friendship developed so did our chemistry and after I took him up on his offer for a full time position here we had a uh, a little fling."

"Why'd it end?" Ethan asked, leaning forwards and fully engrossed in my workplace dalliance.

"It ended before Krista came into the picture and now she's the biggest concern in my life, I can't let someone in romantically unless there's long term potential. I don't want her to get attached to Ranger in a father figure capacity if it's just temporary to him." I explained, fidgeting with my pen and avoiding eye contact.

"I totally get what you're saying about concern for Krista, I feel the same way about Amelia. But generally there's not any jealousy or Alpha male posturing if he wasn't intent on getting you back. Are you sure he's not rethinking the whole long-term potential thing?"

"Oh I'm sure. He's always been very adamant about the no long-term thing and before I explained that I required the potential of a commitment, he would ask me to fill in as his date whenever the need came up from weddings to random social engagements. However when he bought tickets for RangeMan to attend the Homeless Shelter Benefit this weekend, he expressly purchased 10. One for each of the four core team members, which includes Ranger, and me plus our dates." I explained, looking a bit despondent despite my best efforts to mimic the patented RangeMan blank face.

"Hmm, that is interesting. And a perfect opportunity," Ethan said, with a playful glint in his hazel eyes. He continued his explanation after seeing my confused expression. "Well, you could use your date to make him jealous! Unless you have an actual date in mind."

"Actually, I was just going to ask a friend, something else on my never ending to do list. But no, there is no guy right now. But Ranger is Mr. Control, do you really think I could use some man-candy to elicit a reaction from him?" I asked thoughtfully.

"Under normal circumstances I'd say yes, but after meeting him and seeing how he acts around you, I'd have to say hell yes!" Ethan said, causing both of us to fall into a mini-fit of giggles at our diabolical plan. "So, any potentials for operation make Ranger jealous?"

"Well, not really. I was thinking of just asking a friend of mine either from here at RangeMan or the TPD or if I get really desperate, my ex and now purely platonic friend. What do you think?" I asked my new friend who was clearly a font of advice.

"If you're open to it, I know I could use an adult night out and clearly Ranger already sees me as a threat…" Ethan said, shrugging his shoulders and letting his generous offer hang in the air between us.

"Are you sure you'd do that for me? Ranger's pretty scary when he wants to be." I warned.

"Absolutely, it'll be fun. Besides, us single parents have to stick together!"

"Wow, thank you! I really appreciate it!"

"Anytime Steph."

"Thanks! Now, let's talk about your security needs and see if I can help upgrade your system and downgrade your costs!" I said as I began perusing the blueprints laid out between us.

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RM POV

I allowed the syncopated rhythm of my fists hitting one of the heavy bags in the well-equipped RangeMan gym to calm my mind so I could think through what was currently plaguing my thoughts and threatening my legendary control. Or whom, rather. One Stephanie Michelle Plum. The epiphany I had after my night with Candy or Becky or whatever had never been far from the forefront of my mind over the past few days. I had been making love with Babe and, more importantly, I was in love with her. Not the 'I love you as a friend' love but real, 'can't live without you' love, and I had no idea as to what to do about it.

On one hand, I wasn't sure if I was ready or willing to be the kind of man Steph needed, but on the other, I couldn't bear the thought of her moving on. Her moving on was the reason I was spending my lunch hour in the gym taking out my aggression on a heavy bag instead of eating a turkey sandwich in my office while I went over plans for the Capello's upcoming benefit. My day had started out bright but had taken a definite nosedive when Babe brought up her client meeting with Ethan, a fellow parent at this morning's 9AM meeting. I though walking into the meeting and letting him know that Steph was _my_ Babe would make him shy away from Steph, but it didn't seem to work. Either he was stupid or very determined. I wanted to believe he was stupid, but his business prowess in expanding The Sports Zone throughout the North East strongly implied that was not the case. (Yeah, I ran a background check on him. What?! I'm thorough, this definitely isn't stalking. Not yet at least.)

Stupid fucking Ethan and his stupid fucking superman jaw, I thought to myself, enunciating each word with a lethal blow. He had to have chin implants, he seemed like the type to get them. He definitely had me rethinking giving Steph most of Wednesday off for _personal reasons_. Although she promised to get caught up by working extra hours from home during the other four days of the week, so it would be hard to explain why I'd changed my mind on her time off. Dammit! Ethan better not have anything to do with the time Steph was taking off.

I heard the sound of the gym door opening and saw Tank walking towards me in my peripheral vision. "Yo," I called out, never letting up on my assault of the punching bag.

"Yo," Tank replied, standing near me while shuffling awkwardly.

"Spit it out Tank," I commanded.

"Listen, my girl wanted me to talk to you, and well, she can be very… persuasive."

I nodded for him to continue without halting my workout.

"Well, basically she said that it takes a real man to admit when he needs someone, and she seems to think that you need Little Girl. Also, she thinks that you two are good for each other and you should man up for her and Krista if you want to be happy and that you two are in a relationship of sorts whether or not you want to admit it" he rattled out uncomfortably.

I halted my punches and turned to face Tank, my second in command and best friend. "What?!" I choked out in a deadly whisper.

"Hey, Lula's just calling it like she sees it," Tank said, holding his hands up in surrender. "She also said that since you're not stepping up, Little Girl is going to move on, and she's a catch, so it's safe to assume she won't be single for long."

"Shit," I muttered.

"Ranger, what do you want?"

"My Babe," I replied without missing a beat.

"You get that she comes with a 5 year old and the need for long-term potential, right?"

"I'm not sure if I can handle or want the whole package."

"Well you better get sure quick or you'll miss out," Tank said, shaking his head at me before leaving me to continue pummeling the heavy bag and contemplate my stance on relationships.

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SP POV

"So munchkin, how was the zoo?" I asked as I deftly pulled my RangeMan BMW away from the pick-up area at The Milano Academy and pointed us towards home.

"Oh my gosh, it was the bestest day ever Aunt Stephie! We saw lions and zebras and giraffes and monkeys." Krista gushed animatedly from the backseat.

"Wow, that sounds really exciting! So, what was your favorite animal?"

"Well, my favorite is still unicorns, but my favorite today was the giraffes, they're sooo tall!"

"Mhmm, they sure are," I agreed. "So, did anything interesting happen?"

"Well, we went with the first graders, and one of them was talking about where meat comes from. Did you know it comes from animals? Cute chickens and cows and fishies and piggies?!"

"Mhmm," I said, my voice laced with trepidation as I dreaded where the conversation was going.

"Well, then Swati said she was a vegetable-arian, so she doesn't eat any animals. And I want to be one too!" Krista announced proudly.

"What now?!"

"I want to be a vegetable-arian Aunt Stephie. Will you do it with me?"

"Well munchkin, it's not really that easy and well, I'm not sure if that's a good idea, for either of us," I said as I tried to formulate a plan to dissuade Krista.

"Please, please, please Aunt Stephie?" Krista pleaded as she pulled out the puppy dog eyes.

"I, well, okay. I can try it out with you," I caved. I guess BLTs for lunch were out. We'd have to settle for some grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup from the can, I thought while simultaneously pondering how less than 40 pounds of girl just talked me into being a vegetarian.

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SP POV

After Krista's post-lunch nap, we were both situated in the home office room working. I was going over clients that were up for contract renewals and had meetings scheduled this week, and Krista was working on a Letter B worksheet. We were both interrupted by the buzzer at the front door. I quickly ran out of the toasted marshmallow hued office with Krista following me towards the front door to answer the buzzer.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Stephanie? This is Gwen O'Brian, your Child Protective Services caseworker."

"Gwen, I'll just buzz you in," I said, hitting the button to grant Gwen access to the building.

A few minutes later I heard a knock on the apartment's front door and opened it to reveal Gwen who had her auburn hair piled on top of her head in an artfully messy bun. She was wearing a navy pant suit paired with a light blue shell and her librarian style glasses. "Hi Stephanie," she said, holding out her hand. I shook her hand and stepped aside to allow her entrance into our apartment. "And hi there Krista," she said in a chipper tone, holding her hand out once again.

Krista grasped her outstretched hand. "Hi Miss Gwen."

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked, my Burg manners kicking in.

"Just water please. Is there somewhere we can sit to talk?"

I grabbed a bottle of water for each of us and led us towards the living room. Krista and I sunk into the plush charcoal sofa in front of the picture collage wall and Gwen sat in the sofa next to us.

"So, Krista, how do you like school?"

"I really like it. I have two new best friends, Swati and Amelia. We take swimming classes together! And today we wented to the zoo!" Krista gushed animatedly.

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun. And are you having fun staying here with your Aunt Stephanie?"

"Yeah. We do lots of things together like picnics and cooking. We even wented to the ballet on Saturday!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I'm glad you're liking it here in Trenton."

"I do. But… I still miss Mommy and Daddy and my friends in Boston," Krista explained in a small, brittle voice.

I pulled Krista into my lap to give her a bear hug. "I know munchkin, I miss them too. And we can always make a trip up to Boston to visit your friends, okay?"

"Mkay Aunt Stephie." Krista mumbled into my neck.

"Well Krista, it was very nice talking to you, but I need to talk to your Aunt now, if that's okay?" Gwen asked tentatively.

Krista responded by nodding. "Krista, why don't you finish up your Letter B worksheet in the office room while Miss Gwen and I talk, okay?" Krista nodded again, hopped off my lap and skipped out of the living room.

"Well, it looks like she's adjusting very well. It was a really good idea to get her involved in activities and keep her engaging with her peers," Gwen noted while quickly jotting something down in her notebook.

"Getting to know some of the other parents and their children has been good for both of us. We're taking a Mommy and Me swimming class at the Trenton Swim Club with a few of Krista's classmates. We also had a picnic on Friday with a friend of mine and her kids that I hope will become a weekly tradition. Oh and you already know about the ballet classes she's signed up for on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons." I said hurriedly while trying to quash the nervousness that seems to accompany being judged.

"I'm glad to hear it. You've really been a dream parent to check in on. Also, I wanted to let you know that I did hear from your attorney, Mr. Lawrence, with regards to the bribe that Krista's maternal grandparents offered you. Needless to say it definitely colors the handful of complaints they've made concerning your guardianship. Coupled with the fact that you've really been making an valiant effort with Krista from activities to cultural events, well, you have nothing to be concerned with." Gwen announced, giving me a reassuring pat on the knee.

"Thank you, I can't help but be a little nervous, but knowing that really helps," I said, forcing my self to stop fidgeting with the label on my bottle of water.

"So, how is juggling full time employment and full time parenthood?" Gwen asked with a chuckle.

"It's been… interesting. Luckily my employers have allowed me to do a considerable amount of work from home, so I just have to make sure to get the client meetings and things I need to be onsite for taken care of before noon."

"You and Krista are both lucky. I'm relieved that you're not having to depend on a babysitter or nanny so soon after the loss of her parents. It will definitely help your growing relationship."

"Mhmm," I agreed.

"So the last time we spoke you had mentioned counseling for Krista. Have you moved forwards with that?"

"Well, I spoke with the counselor but she said that unless Krista started acting out, there was no need for counseling at this point, especially since she's so young. So I figured I'd keep an eye out for any signs that she's having difficulty adjusting and make sure she knows I'm always available to talk about her parents."

"Well, it seems you have everything covered! Are there any concerns that you have?"

"Could you go over the rest of the process please?" I asked, grabbing the notebook I had handy to jot down any pertinent information.

"We'll have our final meeting in a month and as long as everything goes well you'll officially adopt Krista at that time. Your attorney will help you navigate all of the paperwork."

"Thanks. That sounds good. Is there anything else you needed to ask me or check on?"

"Nope, we're all done here," Gwen announced, getting up to leave. I escorted her to the door, let her out and reset the alarm before heading to the home office to see how Krista's worksheet was going.

"Hey munchkin, you almost finished?" I asked, dropping a kiss on her temple.

"I already finished the B worksheet Aunt Stephie! Now I'm working on the numbers one."

"Wow, you're speedy. How about we both finish up our work and then we can fix our first official meal as vegetarians?"

"Yay! I can't wait! And then can we have a dance party in the living room?"

"Of course munchkin."

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RM POV

"Hi Julie," I said, putting aside my fork to focus on the phone call from Julie.

"Hey Ranger," Julie's chipper voice responded.

"How's soccer practice going?"

"It's good so far, it's getting intense since school will be starting in a week."

"And stuff at home is good?"

"Yup Ranger, everything's great here."

"Mhmm, so anything interesting going on?" I asked hoping that she'd have enough to say to fill up the remainder of the call because lame as it was, I'd officially run out of things to talk to my daughter about.

"Actually, I'm more interested in how things are going in Trenton. What's with you and Steph?"

I guess the remainder of the conversation wouldn't be monopolized by Julie. Damn. "Everything's fine, she's still working at RangeMan handling the clients. And as far as I know, everything with her and Krista is fine as well. Why?" I asked, worried that somehow something Babe related had slipped by my radar.

"Ranger! I meant what is going on with you and Steph? Are you dating?" Julie asked, her voice tinged with exasperation.

"Steph and I are friends, that's all. Besides, I'm not really relationship material and she's looking for a Mr. Mom type." I explained, hoping that she would drop the topic.

"Mr. Mom?"

"It's an old movie, forget it. But no, Steph and I aren't dating."

"But _why _not?" I guess my daughter got her persistence from me. Lucky me.

"It's complicated mija. Basically we both want different things so we're better off as friends." I explained.

"What do you mean you want different things? I've heard how she talks about you and saw during the Scrog debacle just how far she's willing to go for you. I know you feel the same way. What about that is sooo complicated, _Ranger_?" Julie argued, her voice steadily becoming louder.

Great, now I'd managed to piss off my daughter and Lula. And I honestly couldn't figure out which one of them I was more afraid of. Probably Lula, she's more likely to come up with some harebrained scheme likely to end in a disaster. Julie'd just yell and maybe tell Babe how she thinks I really feel. Not that she'd be wrong, it's just that I'd rather be the one to tell a woman I love her and decide when and how to do so. Having your preteen daughter break the news for you is the antithesis of badass. They'd probably make me turn in my badass card.

"Trust me mija, Steph and I are great as friends. And we will remain good friends, okay?"

"Okay," Julie replied after grunting and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like _idiot_. "I just want you to be happy and not to miss out because you were being stubborn or something," Julie finally admitted.

"I promise I'm happy, and while I appreciate it, there's absolutely no need for you to worry about me." I lied. I lied to my daughter. After the night with the blond bimbo and my talk with Tank, I knew I had it bad for Babe, I just didn't know what to do about it. I didn't know if I was willing to make the necessary changes to secure my happily ever after. Although in the meantime, while I decided I could at least make sure I was on Babe's mind. She had self-defense training tomorrow, right? That could work out. Hmm…

:::::::::::::::

Becks

Ugh a voicemail, I thought as I heard my phone chirp on my way home. I checked the display to see that I had missed a call from Steph. I hit play to hear the message she left as I trudged up the stairs to my fifth floor apartment.

"Hey Becks, it's Steph. I was just calling to see how things were going and to give you a heads up on the happenings here in Trenton. My second home visit by the CPS went well, the next one is in a month after which I can officially adopt Krista. Also, Krista went to the zoo today and decided that we are going to be vegetarians, so wish me luck. Lots and lots of luck. Gimme a call back when you get a chance! Take care. Bye!"

Thankfully I had managed to get into my apartment before learning about Steph's dietary changes because I couldn't hold back the hysterical laughter that practically had me on the ground clutching my sides. Steph was going to be a vegetarian. Steph who loved Pino's meatball subs almost as much as she loved pineapple upside-down cake was going to be a vegetarian. Too bad she wasn't on good terms with Helen because I would've paid to see her reaction to this new development!

I headed into my sea-foam green and white accented bedroom and traded in my work attire for some pink on black polka dotted boxer shorts and a tank top, washed off my make-up and headed to my homey kitchen to rustle up something for dinner. I tossed a frozen pasta meal into the microwave and dialed Steph to see how her vegetarianism was going.

"Hey Becks," Steph whispered.

"Hey Steph," I whispered back, "why are we whispering?"

"Sorry, I don't want to wake Krista up. One sec," Steph explained. "Okay," she said with a more normal volume, "what's going on?"

"Well you know me, work and more work. I was actually calling to see how things were going with you!"

"I take it you heard my message? Yeah, well, I'm apparently a vegetarian now," she grumbled.

"How? I just don't get how Krista went from the zoo to convincing you to be vegetarian." I asked, curiously.

"She and some of the other students were talking about where meat comes from at the zoo and she was alarmed to learn that meat came from animals. She didn't want to eat the cuddly animals so now we're vegetarian." Steph explained succinctly.

"But why did you cave?" I asked, grabbing my microwave meal and a beer and settling in at my walnut dining table.

"She was using her tiny, pleading voice and had those puppy dog eyes. I couldn't say no. She's good. Trust me, you would've given up meat too if she turned those slightly misty puppy dog eyes on you."

"Damn. Well good luck. And congrats on the second CPS visit going well!"

"Thanks! It's a relief that it's almost over. The whole being judged to decide if I can keep Krista thing is hella stressful. I can't help my nervous blubbering in front of our caseworker. Luckily she's only concerned with Krista's needs, so my awkwardness has been forgiven so far."

"That's good. And you have nothing to be nervous about Steph. You're doing everything right!"

"Thanks Becks, it's nice to hear."

"Anytime. And now on to the thing that I want to hear! What real life story did you fairy-tale-ify for Krista tonight?!" I asked.

"You remember that Halloween where you, me, Mare and V signed up for that scavenger hunt and we had to take a picture with a gladiator, steal a pumpkin and like 20 other things?"

"You didn't?!" I gasped as I remembered the drunken craziness that filled that night.

"Oh, I did. I think it's her new favorite bedtime story!" Steph chortled.

"Of course it is," I responded dryly.

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AN: I have no idea as to how CPS actually works. I just went with the three meetings because it worked with the story.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks for reviews and to everyone who's been sticking with the story so far. And thanks to the guest reviewer who provided me with an overview of CPS visits.

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SP POV

After a quick lunch I dropped Krista off at her ballet lesson and hightailed it back to RangeMan for my biweekly self-defense training. I quickly changed into black yoga pants and a hot pink sports bra and headed towards the mats at the back of the extensive RangeMan gym and waited for Woody, my trainer for the week. Tank had posted a sign up sheet so my trainer would vary week to week and I would learn a wide range of fighting styles. I decided to stretch while I waited and had just finished when Ranger entered the gym and stalked towards me.

"Babe, Woody had to go pick up an FTA we just got a lead on," Ranger announced, lending me a hand and pulling me up off the mats where I had been stretching.

I nodded and started to head towards the gym door. "Oh, okay. Well I'll just reschedule with him."

"Not so fast Babe," Ranger said, grabbing a hold of my arm and tugging me back onto the mats. "I'll fill in as your trainer this week."

What?! Ranger was definitely too busy to take off an hour to train me, especially with the Capello job going down this weekend. The hinky feeling I had was supported by my slightly buzzing spidey senses. "Ranger, I know you far too busy for this. I really don't mind rescheduling with Woody or asking one of the other guys," I said, motioning to the handful of Merry Men currently getting their sweat on in the gym.

"No worries Babe, I'm happy to help with your training. Would you prefer one of your Merry Men trained you instead?"

"It's not that, I just figured you had better things to do…"

"Mhmm. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the _incentives_ they provide you with," Ranger replied smirking.

"Crap, you know about that."

Ranger cocked an eyebrow up in response. I should've figured Batman knew how the guys would take me to get ice-cream if I managed to avoid getting taken down during the hour of training. So far I'd only earned the illusive ice-cream treat a few times, but it definitely made training much more enjoyable.

"So, let's start with some sparring to see where you're at. I'll try and get you into various holds and you try to break out and pin me, okay?" Ranger said, assuming his fighting stance.

Oh boy! "Sure Ranger," I squeaked out.

An hour later I'd managed to get out of a few of the holds Ranger deployed, however most of our time 'sparring' was really spent with Ranger initiating full body contact. His holds and takedowns were more of the groping variety than aiming to subduing a threat.

Well, I guess that explains my spidey sense's warning when Ranger commandeered my training session. He was using it as an excuse to slowly drive me crazy. We'd already agreed that being friends and colleagues was the best course of action, so why was he getting all handsy? And if the mixed signals weren't enough to frustrate me, the fact that he was essentially wasting my hour of defense training playing grab ass was definitely pissing me off. Sure at first the two hours a week of getting thrown around by the Merry Man de jour seemed like a chore, but after the first couple of sessions I realized how empowering it was to learn new ways to protect myself and ensure that in a pinch, I'd be able to take care of and save myself. It was an essential skill set for any Wonder Woman in training. And having Ranger waste my limited training time for a grope session was getting on my last nerve. I was practically vibrating with frustration and it didn't help that I was having a hard time employing my self defense training to get out of the Ranger's holds and pin him down.

"You did good Babe, I'll see you again on Thursday," Ranger said, grabbing his bottle of water and gulping it down. I was too annoyed to talk and decided the best course of action would be to just leave for the day. Well leave _and_ come up with a plan for Thursday to get one over on Ranger. Giving him a taste of his own medicine seemed like the perfect revenge. Besides, there was no way I could handle another hour of gropefest with Ranger and not self-combust or lash out at him for wasting my time. Maybe I could work the sparring knives into my payback. They were plastic and emitted a tiny electrical shock upon contact. Hector had spent several sessions making sure I was deceptively deadly with them.

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SP POV

"So Krista, what homework do you have today?" I asked as we settled into our seats in the home office room in our apartment.

"I have a project that is due on Friday Aunt Stephie."

"Okay, what is the project about?"

"Well, we have to draw a picture of our favorite animal since we just wented to the zoo. And we have to write some words that describe the animal." Krista explained.

"So, what animal do you want to do?"

"I want to do unicorns, they're my favorite!" Krista announced proudly.

"What about a giraffe? You said they were your favorite animal out of the ones you saw at the zoo yesterday." I suggested, hoping that I wouldn't have to shatter Krista's innocence by explaining unicorns weren't real.

"Nope, I want to do unicorns." Krista asserted matter of factly.

"Okay, well, I know unicorns are your favorite munchkin, it's just that, unicorns are… well, they're make believe, like The Little Mermaid and Princess Elsa in Frozen. Maybe it would be better if you did an animal from the zoo that isn't make believe." I explained trepidatiously.

"Unicorns are real, they're just part of the fairy tale world, Aunt Stephie, like Harry Potter and Humpty Dumpty. That's why they weren't at the zoo. But they're still real, silly." Krista explained, focusing on her unicorn drawing.

I guess there was no talking Krista out of her unicorn project. Hopefully her teacher, Ms. Brooks would understand. We both settled in to get our work done, me with my RangeMan paperwork and Krista with her unicorn project.

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SP POV

After a dinner of leftover fancy mac and cheese we had made with Ella that was thankfully vegetarian, Krista and I played a few rounds of Candyland until about 8PM. When I received a phone call from Julie, I sent Krista to brush her teeth and get ready for bed while I had my weekly conversation with Julie.

"Hey Julie! How's everything going down in Miami?" I asked.

"Everything's great. I'm just enjoying the last of my summer vacation."

"That sounds great! And how's soccer practice going?"

"It's okay, we're getting better and practice is getting tougher now that school is starting in a week."

"Mhmm."

"So, is anything exciting happening in Trenton?" Julie asked.

"Well, I'm going to a benefit dinner this weekend with the RangeMan core team and our dates. Oh and this past weekend Krista and I went the New York City Ballet. A RangeMan client gave us the tickets!"

"Wow, that sounds really fun. Does Krista like the ballet?" Julie asked thoughtfully.

I was glad that the previous awkwardness Julie was feeling with regards to Krista had dissipated and that Julie genuinely wanted to know more about Krista. "Yeah, she really loves the ballet. It was a pretty amazing evening."

"So, what's the deal with the benefit?"

"It's to raise funds for the Trenton Homeless Shelter. RangeMan sponsored a table, so we're going to support the cause."

"So you're going with Ranger?"

"Not exactly. Ranger's going and so am I, but we're both bringing our own dates," I explained.

"Hmm. I have a question…" Julie said, cautiously.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"Well, I wanted to know what is going on with you and Ranger?" Julie asked hurriedly.

Crap. Crappity Crap. "Ranger and I are good friends who work together." The words effortlessly rattled off my tongue. I guess I'd been explaining our 'relationship' quite a bit lately.

"Puh-lease! I know there's something going on between you two," Julie exclaimed.

"Honestly Julie, there isn't. Were just very good friends, that's all."

"Fine," Julie huffed. "So what else is going on?" Thankfully she was wiling to drop the subject, for now at least.

"Well, Ella's been hosting cooking lessons for me on Sunday afternoons. So far she taught Krista and I how to make ropa vieja, fancy macaroni and cheese from scratch and tiramisu. Although Krista decided that we're going to be vegetarian, so I need to make sure I tell Ella before our lesson this Sunday."

"Whoa, you guys are vegetarian, when did that happen?"

"Well, after Krista's fieldtrip to the zoo on Monday she decided that it was wrong to eat animals and it kinda snowballed from there."

"She's a pretty cool kid," Julie observed with a chuckle.

"Yeah, she really is," I agreed.

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Mary Lou POV

After tucking all of my boys into bed, I settled down on the dark brown suede chaise in my bedroom with a generous helping of wine (What? They wouldn't make red wine glasses so big if you weren't expected to fill them up!) and dialed Steph. She had left a message yesterday I had yet to listen to, and I was curious as to what was going on in her crazy life.

"Hey Mare," Steph answered. "How's it going?"

"Oh you know me, I've just been busy with the boys and their myriad of after school activities. What's new with you?"

"Well, I passed the second CPS home visit with flying colors!"

"Congratulations! Not that I was worried, but it's a relief that you're one step closer to finally officially adopting Krista."

"Agreed. I can't wait until the final meeting is over in a month."

"So, how was the ballet? Did Krista like it?" I asked.

"Oh my gosh, she loved it. We both did. Mare, you _have_ to come with us the next time. The whole thing was magical. Oh and the ballerina guys have crazy muscular bodies!" Steph gushed.

"I'm glad you had fun, so how's Krista doing? Has she said anything or asked about V or Dom?" I asked.

"Well, every now and then she'll mention them and we'll have a short talk about how we both miss them. It's hard because she's so young, you know?"

"Mhmm," I agreed, taking a big gulp of my wine.

"I just hope I'm doing things right. This parenting stuff is hard work. And you're never done for the day, it just keeps going and going!"

"Welcome to my world!" I chortled.

"Heh, thanks I suppose. Oh and guess what else?"

"What?" I asked, far too tired to guess.

"Krista hated the thought of eating animals after her fieldtrip to the zoo so we're vegetarians now."

I couldn't help the laughter that came bubbling from me. Thankfully I didn't spew my wine everywhere. Steph was a vegetarian, willingly! "I'll email you some recipes Steph. Oh and I give you two weeks, tops!" I managed to spit out amid my laughter.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I hope Krista asks you to join us on the vegetarian train. I'd like to see you say no to her!"

"Hey!" I said in mock outrage as we both laughed at the zaniness that was Steph's life. "So," I started somberly after our laughter had faded, "tomorrow…" I let the word hang, knowing that Steph would immediately know what I was referring to. Tomorrow was V's birthday. She would have been turning 30. She should have been the first of our foursome to reach that milestone.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Steph echoed.

"Were you planning anything?"

"I wanted to celebrate it with Krista. I took the day off and figured I'd take Krista to Point Pleasant for a beach picnic and a visit to the boardwalk. Celebrate V by doing something she would've enjoyed."

"I think she would like that, you and Krista keeping her memory and spirit alive," I said, sniffling slightly.

"Yeah. Also, I was wondering if you're busy tomorrow morning at like 10:30AM?" Steph asked.

"Sure, what'd you have in mind?"

"Tattoo parlour. I wanted to get the dandelion blowing in the wind tattoo that V had and I was hoping you'd come with me."

"Absolutely," My reply was followed by a dense silence on both our parts. Finally I brought up a topic Becks and I had been attempting to broach with Steph for the past few weeks. "Steph, have you had a chance to read the letter V left for you?" I asked tentatively.

"I haven't yet, but I will, soon. I promise," Steph replied in a small yet determined voice.

Trusting Steph's word, I dropped the subject and decided to move on to more fun topics. "So, are we still on for a picnic this Friday?" I asked, forcing some chipper into my voice.

"Absolutely! Oh and Krista and I invited two of her friends and their parents, so we'll be a slightly larger group this week."

"Awesome, I'm really liking the whole picnic to celebrate the end of the week thing!" I announced.

"Mhmm," Steph agreed.


	20. Chapter 20

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks for reviews and to everyone who's been sticking with the story so far. Your support keeps me going.

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SP POV

"Hey," Mare whispered as she leaned across the center of my BMW M3 to give me a hug. "How are you holding up?"

From her slightly bloodshot eyes I could tell that she'd been crying earlier, same as me. "I'm hanging in there. I had a pretty full morning between getting Krista ready, my mandatory hour of gun range time and taking care of a quick client meeting, so I haven't really had any time to get caught up in memories of V. You?" I parroted her question as I pointed my sleek company vehicle towards El Diablo, a highly rated tattoo parlor.

"I'm doing the best I can, it's just weird that it's her birthday but we're not planning a surprise party or visit to Boston or something," Mare replied.

"I know. She loved surprise parties. What gets me is that the world is just chugging along like it's any regular day while for us it's such a huge day. I mean, it's V's 30th birthday, it's a big deal!"

"Yeah, it seems wrong that the world just keeps going on like it's nothing," Mare agreed. "I think it's really nice that you're getting V's tattoo. I kinda wish I was brave enough to do it too."

"You can, I mean you were brave enough to get the first one back during college. Do you want to?"

"No, I couldn't!" Mare exclaimed. "I'm a mom and well, it's not really the mom thing to do…"

"I'm a mom, sorta, and I'm getting it. Don't let the wonky Burg morals dictate how you live your life, you'll miss out on waaay too much that way."

"I know you're a mom too, but you're a cool mom with a fulltime job and fancy car who had a fling with Batman. I'm a stay at home mom. And, well, the first one hurt like a bitch. I'm not sure I could make it through another."

"Yeah, it did hurt, but almost in a good way, you know?" I asked as I pulled into an empty parking spot in front of El Diablo. Gotta love that RangeMan parking karma.

"There's no such think as good pain, Steph," Mare asserted as we headed into the tattoo parlor which had black tiled floors and walls painted a shocking crimson. The walls were adorned with sketches of tattoos ranging from the trendy and common to the extravagant and unique. We ambled up to the desk at the front of the parlor where Mike, according to his nametag, was seated and assiduously reading a copy of Inked magazine while fidgeting with the spacer earring in his left earlobe.

"Hi, I wanted to get a tattoo," I announced, drawing Mike's attention away from his magazine.

"Cool, did you need to look at our designs or did you have something in particular in mind?"

"I want this," I said, pulling up a picture of V's tattoo on my phone "on the front-ish part of my right hip."

"Okay, let me just get Jace up here and he'll take good care of you." Mike picked up the front desk phone, hit an extension and told Jace to come up to the front of the shop. A few minutes later, a slight man in his late 20s or early 30s with full black ink sleeves displayed prominently by his wife-beater tanktop sauntered up towards Mare and me.

"Hey, I'm Jace," he said, tossing his head to the side causing his shoulder length hair to follow.

I shook his outstretched hand and introduced Mare and myself before following him into the labyrinth of work stations that populated El Diablo until we reached the one with Jace written next to it in a very elaborate gothic font.

"Why don't you undo your slacks and pull them and your panties down a bit on your right side and I'll just get the tattoo image mocked up and printed," Jace suggested, getting straight to work on recreating V's tattoo.

"Okay," I said, getting situated and settled on the black customer chair table thing.

A short while later, Jace had transferred the tattoo from a printed image to my skin and was starting the tattoo. I kept my eyes focused on the design and my mind focused on V and why she got the dandelion with blowing seeds inked on herself. I was lost in a haze of memories of one of my best friends and barely registered that Jace had finished inking me until Mare slightly shook my shoulder and told me we needed to get going.

I listened to Jace's spiel on tattoo care, paid and dropped off Mare before heading to Tasty Pastry to pick up a mini birthday cake for Krista and my picnic at Point Pleasant. "Hey Clara," I greeted upon entering the pastry shop. "Is the cake I ordered ready?"

"Yup, let me just ring you up and then I'll grab it for you. Let's see, " Clara said, entering information into the old, gray cash register that had been around back when I worked at the Tasty Pastry. "You're total comes out to $17.95."

I handed Clara $20 and told her to keep the change. A few seconds later, she emerged from the back room with the cake I'd ordered. It was a two layer, 5in diameter chocolate cake with fresh raspberry filling and thick buttercream icing with violet and blue flowers around the edges and 'Happy Birthday Mommy' written on it.

Once I'd collected the dessert for my picnic with Krista, I headed home to pack a quick lunch of PB&J and PB&O (peanut butter and jelly and peanut butter and olive) sandwiches, fresh pineapple, chips and salsa and water bottles. I also tossed on pink tailored shorts and a black tanktop over a modest black bikini and packed the rest of the essentials from sunscreen to towels into a large canvas RangeMan tote.

I had a little while before I needed to start loading up the car to pick up Krista, so I gave Becks a call to check in and see how she was holding up. Hopefully she's not having too tough of a time, especially since she lives by herself. I knew how lucky I was that another of our band of four lived in Trenton with me and was always available to talk or just to give a much needed hug. I imagine I'd be struggling much more if I didn't have Mare with me to lean on.

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SP POV

"So, Krista, are you ready for our celebration today?" I asked as I helped her buckle into her carseat.

"Yup Aunt Stephie! Where are we going?" she asked eagerly.

"Well, remember how we talk about today being your Mom's birthday? I thought we should celebrate it by doing something that she would've liked, so we're going to the beach!"

"Okay, I like the beach too!"

"Perfect, so how about you eat a small snack," I said, handing her a bag with apple slices in it, "while I drive and when we get there we'll have a picnic on the beach."

"Mkay Aunt Stephie," Krista agreed and started munching on the apples.

A little over an hour later we were laying out a hibiscus covered blanket on the beach and settling down to eat our lunch. I handed out the sandwiches, pineapple and water and set up the chips and salsa between us so we could both snack on it. We spend a relaxing lunch taking in the scenery and discussing the epic sandcastle we'd build when we were through eating. The sound of the waves crashing into the beach provided the perfect soundtrack to our meal. I loved the beach, the beauty and serenity had a way of recharging me, making me feel like there was nothing too arduous for me to conquer. And making it through V's birthday was definitely something I needed a little extra help with.

"So Krista, do you know why we're celebrating your Mom's birthday?"

She shook her head no and looked down at her plate and sniffled. Crap, I didn't want to make her sad, I just wanted to keep the memory of V alive.

"Your Mom was a very important person to me, and I think it's nice for us to remember her and spend the day doing something she would have enjoyed. Also, I want you to know that if you ever have any questions about her or anything or want to talk about her, I'm always here. Okay?" I asked, brushing away a few errant tears and trying to keep from crying.

Krista nodded in response and scooted over to me to give me a hug. "I just miss her," she mumbled into my chest, holding on tight.

"Me too," I agreed, reveling in the warmth from the sunlight bearing down on us. It almost felt like a warm, reassuring hug from the clear blue sky above us.

After a few moments Krista broke from our hug and looked up at me with a pensive expression. "Aunt Stephie, how can we celebrate Mommy's birthday without any cake?" she asked in a small, brittle voice.

"Well, let's see here, I'm pretty sure I remembered cake," I said, making a show of checking in all of our bags before bringing out the mini-cake I'd picked up from the Tasty Pastry. "Tada!" I exclaimed, placing the cake in between us, sticking in a handful of candles (30 would be a fire hazard and likely to get wax all over the delicious confection) and lighting them.

We both sang happy birthday, made wishes and blew out the candles together. Then I cut us both a generous helping of the chocolate and raspberry cake and we settled in to eat our cake as we watched the foamy waves roll in.

"Mmmm, this cake is sooo yum!" Krista observed, with a slight smear of purple icing on decorating cheek.

"I agree, it's the best!" I said around a bite of cake.

"I wish Mommy was here to celebrate with us," Krista admitted timidly.

"I do too munchkin, and I'm sure she wants to be here too, but she can't. But, I bet she's looking down on us from heaven and us celebrating at the beach and doing something she would've loved is making her smile and feel like she's here with us."

"Really?" Krista asked, her voice raw and filled with awe.

"Really," I answered as we continued eating our huge pieces of cake in silence.

"Aunt Stephie, I forgotted my swimsuit. How can I play in the water without it?"

"Oh, it's in the bag with the towels, we'll get you changed once we finish up our cake."

A few hours of splashing in the ocean and engineering an impressive sandcastle later, we decided to check out the boardwalk. We dried off and put some shorts and tank tops, donned flip-flops, loaded our picnic supplies into the car and headed for the boardwalk.

We spent the next several hours playing in an arcade, snacking on vendor food and going on rides (our favorite was the large swing ride that spun us around in circles) before deciding on the Boardwalk Bar and Grill for a quick dinner. By the time I had pointed the car towards home, an exhausted Krista had fallen asleep in the backseat with a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips.

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RM POV

Finally, I thought as I checked the tracker on Babe's car for the tenth time today. Babe and I assume Krista were on their way back to Trenton. I knew it was a slight violation of her privacy, but I couldn't help myself from keeping tabs on how she spent her day off today.

She came into RangeMan this morning for her mandatory gun range time and a client meeting then headed to El Diablo, a tattoo parlor. I had lost several hours imagining what she'd gotten tattooed on her alabaster skin and, more importantly, where. I hoped it was somewhere outside of her swimsuit areas because I didn't want to have to harm a tattoo artist for getting handsy with my Babe. Ugh, I needed to seriously lock down the _my_ Babe inklings. I had been pleasantly surprised when I first saw the Wonder Woman tattoo on the inside of her delicate ankle. It was definitely hot and telling that she chose that particular emblem to have inked permanently on her body. I wondered if I'd get to see the new ink she got, if she did indeed get some.

After the tattoo parlor, she'd gone to Tasty Pastry, home, The Milano Academy and finally Point Pleasant. I guess she wanted the day off to lounge at the beach and work on her tan. And probably eat crap boardwalk food, I thought with a grimace. Finally after spending most of the afternoon and evening at Point Pleasant, the tracker on Babe's RangeMan car was headed back to Trenton.

Now that Steph was headed home and her day off was culminated I moved on to my list of things to do for the day which only had one item pending. Find a date for the Homeless Shelter Benefit this Saturday. I'd been putting it off, but now it was just three days away and I had to ask someone or risk going stag. Which would be especially embarrassing with Babe having a date. And there was the added complication of needing a date as a cover for part of the collaborative effort with the FBI and TPD to help put away the Capellos.

I had been waffling between either asking one of my sisters or asking an actual date to attend the benefit with me. As nosy as my sisters tended to be, I figured it would be easier to take care of everything that needed to be handled that night if I didn't have to worry about an actual date at the same time. I pulled out my phone and dialed Marcella, my sister who was a year younger than I was. She was the sibling I had been closest to growing up and we'd managed to remain close despite my being shipped of to Abuela Rosa in Miami after I was sent to juvie. We'd somehow even managed to regain our closeness after the years I'd cut myself off from her and the rest of the family while I was deployed and regularly running black ops missions for Uncle Sam. She was also the only person from my family outside of Santos that knew about Babe. I'd had to keep my burgeoning friendship with Steph a secret from my well-intentioned yet nosy family to avoid pressure from them wanting to meet her or for me to pursue a traditional relationship with her. Not that they intimidated me, I'd just rather not have to defend my life choices the few times a year I actually saw them.

"Hi Carlos," Marcella answered after three rings.

"Hey Marcella, how's it going?"

"Well, the museum has been doing great. We're getting ready to start a new exhibit on India as part of our Around the World Campaign." Marcella had a PhD in Anthropology and was the curator for the Children's Museum in Newark. She loved planning new events to get children excited about other cultures.

"Mhmm, and how're things with the guy you've been seeing? Enrique, right?" I asked.

"Oh him, yeah, I cut him loose. I only went out with him a few times at Mama insistence because he was a friend of a friend and prominent in Cuban society in New York. Between the distance and his chauvinistic attitude, it was pretty much doomed."

"Do I need to pay him a visit?" I asked darkly.

"Nope, I took care of him myself. I gave him an education on female superiority that I'm sure he took to heart!" she said with a self-satisfied chuckle.

"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. So is there anyone new?" I asked, hands poised at my keyboard ready to run a detailed background check on any new guy my sister was dating.

"Not right now, so you can stand down! So Carlos, what do you need?"

"Why would you assume I just called because I needed something?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you didn't just call to talk about my dating life, so spill, what is it?"

"I need a date for a benefit this weekend, and I was wondering if you were free?" I finally spit out.

"Sure, but why don't you just ask Stephanie?"

"Well, she is going, but with her own date," I reluctantly admitted.

"What?! Why?" Marcella demanded.

"Well, it's mostly because the tables seat ten, so the core team plus Steph and our dates are going. So can you come?"

"Well, if you're not going with Stephanie and she's bringing her own date, would you rather go with a friend of mine that I'm sure you'd hit it off with?"

"God no, it's sort of a working date, and I'd rather not have to worry about some chic's feelings or making small talk with everything going on." Also, things were complicated enough with me figuring out how to handle my growing attraction and need for Babe to throw another woman into the mix.

"Okay, fine." Marcella huffed.

"Okay fine you'll go with me?"

"Yeah, I will. Besides, I've been wanting to meet Stephanie since you first mentioned her to me almost two years ago."

With my luck they'd end up being best friends and sharing everything with each other, including embarrassing stories from my childhood. "Thanks, sis. I'll email you the details and I'll see you Saturday," I said before hanging up.

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SP POV

After realizing I had waaay too much to carry back into the apartment, I decided to make a second trip for all of our beach supplies and start by carrying a still sleeping Krista up. I had just entered the apartment when Krista shuffled in my arms and woke up a bit.

"Goodnight Mommy," she said, laying her head back down on my shoulder and instantly falling back asleep. I walked in shock towards her bedroom, laid her down on the bed, changed her and tucked her in as I replayed the moment she called me Mommy over and over in my head.

Did she mean to call me Mommy or what she thinking about V? Had I gone from Aunt Stephie to Mommy over the past few weeks? Or would she go back to calling me Aunt Stephie in the morning? And why did that thought feel like I'd been sucker punched. Oh gosh, and what would V think about her precious baby girl calling me Mommy?

These thoughts were swarming my brain as I brought up our beach supplies. I decided I needed to decompress a bit so I ran a bath for myself in my amazing white bathtub that contrasted sharply with the dark blue walls of the bathroom. I tossed in some bath salts and turned on the jets before grabbing a glass of red wine from the kitchen and V's letter. It was time.

I stripped and settled into the luxurious bathtub and closed my eyes for a second to drink in how amazing and relaxing it felt. Then I took a long sip of wine, wiped my hands on a towel I'd kept in reach and carefully opened the letter V had left for me in her will.

Steph,

If you're reading this, I want you to know how sorry I am and that I love and miss you terribly. I know this isn't something we expected to have happen, but since it has, there are a few things I want you to know. Things I probably should've told you but just never got around to.

I love you, very much. You're like the sister I always wanted. Someone who always got me, was always there for me sans judgment and just wanted me to be happy, no matter what. Seeing how much you cared for me taught me to love, especially after growing up in a frigid house where love was treated as a reward for compliance and living up to outrageous expectations. And thanks to you, I've had a slew of wonderful friendships and an amazing husband and partner in life.

Also, you inspire me to be fearless. The way you picked yourself up after Morelli's poems detailing the Tasty Pastry incident, Dickie's infidelity, being let go from E.E. Martin and every time something terrible happened during your stint as a Bounty Hunter is inspiring. You have an indomitable spirit, which is something I hope to mirror. I hope that you continue to forge your own path forwards and never let anyone dictate how you will live your life. You are truly one of a kind, and I am honored to call you a friend.

Finally, I'm sure you're wondering why I chose you as Krista's guardian should something happen to Dom and myself. Well, it's because of everything really. Krista's the most important person in my life, and I want her to grow up strong and independent and loved. And I know that of my friends, you're the person I trust most to raise Krista and help her to grow into the amazing woman I know she will be.

Courage is grace under pressure. I got that quote in a fortune cookie the other day and immediately thought of you. You always rise to the challenge, no matter what, and you do it in an inspiring way. It's something I want Krista to learn from her Aunt Stephie, to display courage in a graceful manner, even in the face or insurmountable odds.

I also don't want Krista to get caught up in the past, and I think you'll find a way to balance remembering Dom and I while allowing Krista to grow without regrets or bitterness that we're no longer with her but rather watching over her. I want you to be Krista's Mommy, in the truest sense of the word. You're not just a filler parent or Aunt assuming a more hands on role, you _are_ her Mommy, in the same sense that I am or rather was.

I know it will be an adjustment and challenging at times, but I know that together, you two will be capable of anything. Dom and I are deeply thankful for your friendship and support over the years and your dedication to raising Krista with unconditional love and support in the same manner that we would have.

Love,

V


	21. Chapter 21

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks for reviews and to everyone who's been sticking with the story so far. Your support keeps me going.

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SP POV

"Hi Grandma," I answered my phone, pulling away from the Milano Academy after dropping off Krista for school and heading towards the RangeMan building on Haywood.

"Hiya baby granddaughter. Anything interesting you want to fill me in on," she asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean Grandma. What's going on?"

"Well, according to Betty Klein at the Clip n' Curl you were seen by her daughter-in-law's best friend's babysitter going into a tattoo parlor yesterday. So, is it true?"

"It's personal Grandma, I don't want the Burg to know my business," I replied diplomatically.

"Well aint that a pip! You'll be glad to know I told them to mind their own business and that if you wanted to get your lover's picture tattooed on your bum, you were entitled to do so _without_ their input."

I could always count on Grandma to fill me in on the Burg gossip and for having my back when the Burg busybodies decided to badmouth me. "Thanks Grandma, I appreciate the support. And no, I didn't get anyone's face tattooed on my butt."

"Too bad, I hear men like kinky things like that."

"Thanks for the advice Grandma," I said, pulling into my parking spot amidst the sea of black vehicles that made up the RangeMan garage. "I have to go now, I'm at work."

"Okay Steph, and let me know the next time you decide to go to the tattoo parlor. I'm thinking of getting my honey's name tattooed on either my breast or the small of my back like one of them tramp stamps! It's supposed to be a real bad boy magnet. I'll talk to you later baby granddaughter." she announced then hung up. Oh boy! I really hope Harold could keep up with Grandma, or at least that he had a steady supply of little blue pills, because I'm sure he'd need them.

I spent the rest of the morning juggling paperwork, a few client meetings and thinking through how I was going to exact my revenge on Ranger when we met up for my self-defense training this afternoon. I'd already checked in with Hector (and flexed my Spanish skills) to get some tips on weaknesses Ranger had and how to use a knife to my advantage. I'd also checked in with Lester, Cal and Zip, who I'd spent most of my training time with to get additional pointers on going up against Ranger. Basically they said to use Ranger's cockiness and the fact that he was attracted to me against him. Hopefully I'd do them proud, especially since they were all planning on showing up and watching the sparring match. I was pretty sure Lester was making book on it, but that was okay because he said he'd put his money on me.

After a quick lunch with Krista, I dropped her off at ballet, changed into black spandex capris and a black and blue sports bra and headed into the RangeMan gym. I waved hello to the guys who were pretending to workout in the gym and were really there to see me take on the boss man. It seemed like most of the Merry Men had shown up and I was wondering who had drawn the short straw and gotten stuck with monitor duty. I'd just finished stretching when I felt the telltale tingle in the back of my neck alerting me to Ranger's presence.

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RM POV

I walked into the gym for my second round of training with Babe and was slightly thrown off by the number of my men currently using the gym. It looked like everyone except Binky and Zero who were currently manning the monitors was in here halfheartedly working out. I decided to ignore them and zeroed in on Babe as she finished stretching out her hamstrings. She looked sinful in her skintight capris and black and electric blue sports bra. She'd look even better once we'd gotten warmed up and her skin was infused with a slight flush.

"Hey Babe," I said, facing her on the mats, "you ready to get started?"

"Yeah, I was wondering, could you teach me how to use the sparring knives. Some of the guys had mentioned them, but I havn't had a chance to really learn with them yet."

"Sure Babe," I said, collecting two 6in sparring knives from the equipment locker. "These are made of plastic so no one gets accidently nicked, and there's a little button on the handle here that emits a small shock to whoever is touching the blade part of the knife," I explained, handing her one of the black knives. "Why don't I show you some basic moves, and then we can incorporate the knives into our sparring."

"Sounds good," Steph replied. I spent the next 20 minutes going over how to wield the knife and use it both defensively and offensively. "Okay, I think I'm ready to start sparring," Steph announced.

"Really, you're ready for me?" I said, cocking my eyebrow up and smirking at her.

"Oh yeah, let me see what you've got," she taunted back in a husky tone.

Oh I'd show her alright, I thought as we circled each other on the mats. Whoa, down boy, I thought as I refocused on the task at hand. Besides, I was supposed to be using the training sessions to get her hot and bothered, not to become sexually frustrated myself.

I went in to strike her with the knife and she deftly dodged my advance. After this happened two more times I decided I needed to stop phoning it in and put forth a little more effort. I feinted with my left fist and attempted to catch Babe off guard with my knife wielding hand. She was ready for this and used my momentum to fling me over her back. She followed by expertly deploying an armbar on my right arm, causing me to let go of my sparring knife. Babe then got up and kicked my knife out of my reach and off the mats.

Shit, I thought to myself, Babe had just disarmed me without breaking a sweat. I needed to regain the upper hand, especially since all of my men were intently watching and cheering on the sidelines. I was confident, however, as I did have the superior training and muscle mass. I charged Babe and managed to knock her to her knees with a surgical strike to the back of one of her knees. I then lifted her up from behind and pressed my now slightly sweaty body up against her while keeping her trapped in a hold.

Babe managed to get out of the hold by deploying her elbow into my ribs and retaliated by sweeping her leg behind mine and bringing me down for the second time in the past half hour. Something that was _beyond_ unacceptable. I was about to spring up when she straddled me and pressed her sparring knife into my neck. Shit, I thought as I felt the shock from the sparring knife jolt through me. I tapped out, I had no choice.

Instead of getting up off me, Babe sunk down onto me a bit more, slightly grinding into me as she leaned forwards to whisper into my ear. She let out a small, husky giggle when she felt just how much her body was affecting me. "That," she whispered, punctuating the word by grinding her hips against my crotch, "isn't as intimidating as you think, you should probably use a different… weapon next time. Oh and I've actually come to look forward to my defense training, Carlos," she said, the effect of her expertly rolling the r in my name sending a shiver straight through me. "It makes me feel empowered, like I can handle anything. ANd if you're going to undermine that, I'll retaliate by undermining your authority as the big bad boss man. Me besting you here today is nothing compared to what I'm capable of. Remember, I can play dirty too, very very dirty," she whispered in a husky, sex kitten voice.

She got up and gave a little curtsy to the clapping and cheering men she'd dubbed her Merry Men and headed out of the gym after several high fives and hugs without sparing a look back at me. Once she left I finally scraped myself up off the mats, got a drink of water and tried to avoid my employees while I headed for the gym door.

"Hey Ranger," Lester said, swinging an arm around my shoulders in an attempt to anchor me in place. "So what did Beautiful say after she laid you out for the second time?" he asked with a smirk.

"None of your business Santos," I growled, shrugging his arm off.

"Oh come on Ranger, inquiring minds want to know," Lester called out to me as I exited the gym.

"You heard him, it's between him and Little Girl," I heard Tank say as the gym door swung shut behind me.

I could always count on Tank having my back, even if every now and then we had an uncomfortably candid conversation like the one we had Monday at Lula's behest, I thought as I headed up to seven via the elevator for a desperately needed cold shower.

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Ella POV

"Are you going to be my helper today?" I asked Krista after greeting her with a hug.

"Yes please, Aunt Ella, if that's okay," she responded.

"Absolutely, we've missed having you here. The guys are looking forward to the special snacks they get when you visit."

"I missed all of you too!"

"Thanks Ella, I really appreciate this. I promise I'll give you more notice the next time I need to bring her by," Steph said apologetically.

"She's welcome anytime Steph."

"Thanks! Oh and speaking of giving you a heads up, Krista and I have decided to be vegetarians, right Krista?"

"Yup!" she confirmed.

"And I wanted to give you a heads up for this Sunday's cooking lesson."

"Really, you're vegetarians now?" I asked incredulously.

"Don't ask," Steph mumbled with a sigh. "Do you still have recipes that you could teach us?" she asked tentatively.

"Absolutely, I have several vegetarian recipes and ways to adjust meals so that they are vegetarian," I assured her brightly. "I was wondering, would it be okay to do this week's lesson at your place, Luis is having some friends over this weekend and I'd like to give them privacy and time to catch up."

"Of course, it would be nice to use our kitchen for actual cooking rather than just warming up food and basic meal preparation."

"And Aunt Ella can see the new pictures I drewed for the fridge!" Krista added excitedly.

"Well, it's a date then!" I announced, taking Krista's hand and heading towards the kitchen in my 6th floor apartment. "What do you feel like making today?"

"Hmmm, something yummy with chocolate!" Krista announced.

I helped Krista into the purple and black RangeMan apron I had monogrammed for her when she first started helping me out. "I have just the thing!"

An hour later, we were placing ginger vanilla protein bars drizzled with melted carob chips onto a platter for the break room on the 5th floor. "So, are you ready to drop these off to all of the guys?" I asked my little helper.

"Mhmm, they're gonna love these!" Krista replied in a singsong voice as we placed the platter on a cart and wheeled it into the elevator. Krista hit the 5 button and we exited the elevator a few seconds later.

"So, where do you wanna start?"

"Let's start with the offices, then everyone in that big room with all the computers," Krista suggested.

"Okay," I said, skipping Ranger's office and directing the deceptively healthy treat laden cart towards Lester's office. "Why don't you knock so we know if they're busy or not."

"Mkay," Krista said, knocking on the dark wood door.

"Come on in," Lester's playful voice called out. I opened the door to reveal Lester behind his stately mahogany desk sitting across from Ranger with blueprints laid out on the desk between them.

"Ranger, Lester," I greeted them. "Krista and I made some healthy ginger and vanilla protein bars for everyone today."

"They're really yummy, I promise!" Krista added excitedly.

"Wow, they look really great!" Lester said, rounding the desk to grab a couple of the bars. "Ranger, you have to try one of these," Lester asserted after taking a bite.

"I'm good, thanks though," Ranger replied.

"Mr. Ranger, I don't want you to be lefted out!" Krista cried, handing Ranger a bar which he reluctantly accepted after realizing he was outmanned.

"So Krista, what have you been up to?" Lester asked.

"Well, Mo-Aunt Stephie and I wented to a swimming class and the ballet and we had a picnic day at the beach and got to go on fun rides!" Krista announced. "Uncle Lester, can I ask you a question?" Krista asked, her tone turning serious voice.

"Anything mini-Beautiful. What's up?"

"Well," Krista said, fidgeting with the hem of her plaid jumper and shifting uncomfortably, "I was wondering, do you think Aunt Stephie would mind if I called her Mom. Everyone else I know lives with their Mom and they do things together like I do with Aunt Stephie. I know that she's not really my Mommy because I had a Mommy but now that I live with Aunt Stephie and she takes care of me doesn't that make her my Mommy too?" she rattled out rapidly while keeping her eyes focused intently on her shoes.

"I think that Steph would like that," Lester said, shooting Ranger and myself a look pleading for help.

"I agree with _Uncle_ Lester," Ranger said, rising from his seat and kneeling down in front of Krista. He placed a finger under her chin and he raised her face so that they were eye-to-eye. "Being someone's Mommy is a very special thing, and I know that Steph would be love for you to call her Mommy. But if you're nervous about it, you could always ask her if it would be okay."

Krista sniffled and nodded in response. "I'm scared, what if she says no?"

"I promise she won't," Ranger assured her. "If you want, I can come with you when you talk to her."

"Okay Mr. Ranger."

Ranger rose, held Krista's hand and the two of them left to find Steph leaving Lester and myself staring at each other in shock, surprised at the gentleness with which Ranger helped Krista.

"My cousin's got it baaad," Lester muttered under his breath as I left to place the remainder of the protein bars in the break room, confident that the guys would suss out the contraband on their own.

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SP POV

"Come in," I replied to the knock at my door which was precipitated by a tingle assaulting my neck. I looked up to see Krista walk in with Ranger in tow. "Is everything okay?" I asked, moving hurriedly around my desk to stop in front of Ranger and Krista.

"Everything's fine, there's just something that Krista wanted to talk to you about," Ranger answered while Krista nodded slightly, her eyes never straying from her hands twisted in front of her.

I led Krista over to the tufted window seat by the hand that wasn't in Ranger's grasp. Once the three of us were snuggly seated with Krista sandwiched between Ranger and myself I turned to face Krista. "What's on your mind munchkin?" After a few moments of silence punctuated by Krista's sniffles I decided to take a different approach. "Krista, you know you can talk to me about anything, right? Anything at all," I said rubbing her back gently.

Krista nodded in response. I shot a look at Ranger to see if he could give me any clue as to what was going on. He gave me a nod and focused his attention back on Krista. I guess in Ranger speak that meant to give Krista some time to get out whatever was on her mind.

"Aunt Stephie, I wanted to ask you something," she said in a timid brittle tone.

"Anything munchkin," I replied, squeezing her hand.

"I was wondering, do you think it would be okay if I maybe called you Mommy instead of Aunt Stephie?" Krista asked, looking up at me with her big puppy dog hazel eyes.

She had completely taken my breath away, so I simply nodded in response and hugged her tightly to myself. I was blinking furiously, trying to keep the tears threatening to tax my waterproof mascara from falling and peppered kisses all over Krista's face. "Yes yes yes!" I finally managed to say, "I would be honored!"

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Becks POV

"Hey, I answered my phone, slightly out of breath from my 5 mile daily evening run, "what's up Steph?"

"Hi Becks, it's me and Mare, we're on a three way call," Steph replied.

"Hi Becks," Mare added.

"So what are you two up to?" I asked, taking a long drink of water and walking back upstairs to my apartment.

"I just called to fill you two in on my day," Steph said. "I finally got one up on Ranger during my defense training lesson for the day, I gave him a taste of his own medicine!"

"And what exactly does that mean?" I asked curiously.

"It means I took his ass down on the mats while giving him a raging hard-on!" Steph said with a chortle.

"Damn, you took down Batman!" Mare exclaimed.

"I also helped Krista finish up her unicorn project. But the most incredible part of my day wa-"

"Waiiit, are you saying taking down Ranger wasn't the highlight of your day? Must've been some day!" I interjected.

"Oh it gets better," Steph said smugly, "Krista asked if she could call me Mommy, and I said yes."

"Wow," Mare said softly.

"Yeah," Steph replied, "It completely took me by surprise, even though she accidently called me that last night while she was half asleep."

"How do you feel about it?" I asked.

"Good, I think. And it helps that I have V's permission, she said in her letter that she wouldn't want us to live in the past but to remember and honor her and Dom's memories while we move forward in our lives," Steph explained.

"You finally read the letter?" I asked, relief flooding my voice. Mare and I were worried that she'd never get around to reading that letter.

"Yeah, it was… heavy, but I'm glad I finally read it. It was like having one last conversation with V about all the things that she didn't get a chance to talk to me about in person."

"I'm glad you finally read it," Mare added. "You said she gave permission?"

"Mhmm," Steph replied, "she gave me permission to… to officially _be_ Krista's Mom."

"Wow, that _is_ heavy," I agreed.

"So," Steph said disturbing the silence on the line, "anything exciting going on with you two?"

"Oh my gosh yes! You remember the creepy guy that works with me in the DA's office? Okay, so I've been really adamant about maintaining professional boundaries so as to not encourage him, especially after the 'accidently having an entire conversation with my breasts' situation."

"Oh yeah, I remember that, the creeper peeper," Steph added.

"Yeah, so I get into work today, and he comes to my desk with some coffee and asks me out," I said.

"Ugh, no way! How can he think you'd actually date him?" Mare asked, enraged on my behalf.

"Yeah, I know! And the best part is that he asked me out to his sister's wedding! In Boston!"


	22. Chapter 22

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to all of you who've been reading my fanfiction story. Sorry it's a short chapter, but the next one will be longer and cover the benefit.

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SP POV

"Okay men," Ranger said, calling the meeting to go over security details at the Capello estate to order, "are you all clear on your assignments?" After receiving nods from all ten of the Merry Men who would be securing the benefit, Ranger continued. "Each of you has a packet with pictures of people that were removed from either the staff or guest list for being likely to disrupt the benefit. Among them is a Gregory Larson whose brother was seriously injured in the most recent Capello housing fire. He was taken off the catering team but he may still try to gain entry. Also, since some of the plus ones are unknown, keep an eye out for anyone suspicious and remove them quietly from the party. Clear?"

An echo of 'Yes's rained through the conference room.

"Good, Tank and I did a pre-event walkthrough of the Capellos' Hiltonia Estate, and pictures along with blue prints identifying where each of you will be stationed and areas susceptible to covert ingress and egress are also included in your packets. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact either Tank or me. That's all men," Ranger said, dismissing the meeting.

Tank, Lester, Bobby and I remained in the conference room to go over our side mission during the Capellos' benefit. "So," Ranger said, spreading pictures taken of the Capello Hiltonia Estate around on the conference room table, "Tank and I got a good look at the inside of the Estate and we've noted routes to get through the house to plant bugs as well as good vantage points to keep an eye out for any of the Capellos or their rent-a-thugs."

"Looks good," Lester said, focusing on the images. "So who's doing what?"

"Tank and you will sneak through the house under the guise of being carried away with your dates to plant the bugs. The locations to plant them are the spots with the red X's. Babe, Bobby and I will serve as lookouts," Ranger explained.

"Steph, you're position is going to be here," Tank said, pointing to what would be the center of the dance floor during the benefit. I nodded in response for him to continue. "Ranger will be here and Bobby will be here," he said pointing to two black X's on opposite sides of the room.

"Sounds good Big Guy," I answered.

"Now for the toys!" Lester announced excitedly. He handed each on of us a small plastic case that housed an earbud and mini-mic with an on-off switch that we would attach to our clothing so that we could communicate with one another. He then revealed several of the listening devices that he and Tank would be responsible for placing throughout the Capello Estate. "Here Beautiful," he said, handing me one of the listening devices that looked like a nickel. Clearly Hector's craftsmanship. I shot him a confused look eliciting an explanation. "You have crazy good luck, and I figured it might come in handy," he said with a shrug. "Just hit the tiny switch on the side to turn it on before placing it on someone. It's noise sensitive so it will only record and transmit if there's noise present."

"Okay," I responded, pocketing the equipment he'd handed me.

"So everyone needs to get to the benefit by 1900 hours," Ranger said, shooting a look my way. "Don't be late and don't forget to bring your hardware. If you have any questions, let Tank or me know ASAP."

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SP POV

"So, how did your animal projects go girls?" Roshni asked Krista, Swati and Amelia as they chowed down on their lunches at the park across from my apartment building.

"It wented really good, everyone said they liked my unicorn drawing!" Krista announced.

"And what did you two do your projects on?" I asked Swati and Amelia.

"I did mine on penguins, I like them the best because they look so fancy!" Amelia exclaimed.

"And what about you Swati?" Ethan asked.

"I did leopards, I like that they're polka-dotted!" Swati answered.

"Can we go swing now Daddy, please please please!" Amelia begged Ethan after the kids had their fill of the eating portion of our picnic.

"Fine, you can go."

"Yay!" came a chorus of voices as Krista, Swati, Amelia and Mare's boys headed towards the playground in the park.

"It almost seems like they'd rather be playing than hanging out with us!" Mare joked.

"What I don't get is where they get all of their energy from! We just had the same meal and I'm ready for a nap!" Roshni exclaimed.

"Oooh, a nap does sound good," I added.

"So Steph, you excited for our date Saturday?" Ethan asked.

"What?!" Roshni and Mare echoed.

"He's kidding, sorta. I asked him to be my plus one at the Homeless Shelter Benefit tomorrow night and being the generous friend that he is, he said yes."

"Oh yeah, that's why you need me to babysit for you," Mare said.

"Mhmm. And yes, I am excited to get all dolled up and stuff."

"Well that's all great, but I meant are you ready for Operation Make Ranger Jealous," Ethan corrected.

"Are you sure you still want to do that?" I asked, giving Ethan an out.

"Oh my gosh, you have to! And I expect details in exchange for babysitting!" Mare demanded.

"Well, he is pretty scary. Maybe we could do a lite version of the operation. Just get him a little jealous without really changing how we'd be acting naturally." Ethan suggested.

"I think that sounds perfect. And my friend Lula, whose non-work wardrobe is comprise solely of spandex described my dress as va-va-voom, so if nothing else _that_ should make Ranger take notice."

"That definitely sounds promising!" Roshni said.

:::::::::::::::

"Did you and Swati have fun?" I asked as I drove towards Mare's. Krista had a play date with Swati this afternoon while I went with Lula to have a very refreshing spa day before the benefit tonight. Now I was on my way to drop Krista off at Mare's so I could spend the next almost two hours getting ready. I know it sounds like a lot of time, but factoring in make-up and hair and the time pretty much flies by.

"Mhmm, we had a lot of fun. We played in her backyard where she has a super awesome tree house."

"That sounds very exciting."

"And I met Swati's older brother and sister. They were really nice and they played tag with us."

"Mhmm."

"Aun-Mommy, do you think I might get a little brother or sister someday?" Krista asked.

I whipped my head around to face her in the backseat so fast I swear I popped my neck. "What?!" I asked alarmed.

"You know, like how Swati has a brother and sister. Do you think I might get one? Because they were really fun to play with."

"Well Krista, I'm not sure, but for now I think it's just gonna be us, okay?"

"Mkay."

"And you can always play with your friends from school and ballet and Aunt Mare's kids, okay?"

"I guess that's okay," Krista replied in a small voice, her statement punctuated with a sigh.

:::::::::::::::

Before I knew it, it was 6:45PM and our apartment buzzer had gone off. I quickly rushed to the front door to answer it. "Hello," I said breathlessly into the speaker.

"Hey Steph, it's Ethan. Are you heading down or should I head up?" he queried.

"Just gimme a couple minutes and I'll head down," I said, rushing back to the bathroom for one last look. My make-up featured a smoky eye using silver and blue eye-shadow which I paired with nude lips and just enough bronzer to make my skin glow. I'd wrangled my hair into an artfully messy low side chignon bun with some loose tendrils framing my face. For accessories, I'd paired the incredible gown from Sognare with a silver mirrored boxy clutch, a fancy silver cocktail ring, 3-inch long chandelier cubic zirconia earrings and silver stiletto sandals that were surprisingly comfy for 5-inch high shoes. I made sure my mic was secured under the strap that crossed my right shoulder and double checked that I had my earbud and fake nickel bug in my clutch before grabbing my shimmery silver wrap and heading downstairs to meet my date.


	23. Chapter 23

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with this fanfic story and especially to those of you who've reviewed and given me some truly inspiring feedback. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Cal POV

"Alright men, everyone ready to head out?" I asked, assessing all of the men tapped for security tonight at the Capellos' Hiltonia Estate for their Homeless Shelter Benefit while trying to adjust the black tie I was required to wear. Luckily Bombshell had talked the Capellos into letting us wear black suits with black shirts and ties instead of white shirts with red ties to match the color scheme for the benefit. The monkey suits were uncomfortable, but I knew we all felt better in clothes that resembled our RangeMan wardrobe rather than something as ostentatious as a red tie. "Let's go over everyone's assignments for the night one last time before we roll out," I said, cocking my head at Vince who was standing on my right in the RangeMan garage where we were huddled.

"Zip and I will be manning the door leading out of the house and into the backyard."

"We got the back gate for the yard," Slick said motioning to himself and Binkie.

"Brett and I will cover the side entrance that the caterers and event staff will be using," Junior stated.

"We'll be stationed at the front door checking guests in, " Ram added for himself and Bones.

"And Manny and I will be floating amongst the guests making sure no one strays from the backyard or gets by any of you," I said. "Okay, let's load up!" I concluded, prompting the ten of us to begin our processional of sleek RangeMan SUVs towards the Capellos' Hiltonia Estate.

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SP POV

"Wow," I whispered breathlessly as Ethan and I crossed from the Capello's Hiltonia Estate's hardwood foyer to the vast, vaulted ceilinged sitting room filled with bar height circular tables. The tables were covered in crisp, white linens cinched with black velvet bows at about knee height and glowed red from below. The room's ornate chandelier tossed disks of light throughout the room completing the glamorous ambiance.

"Wow is an understatement, this place looks amazing," Ethan agreed as we moved further into the room.

"Champagne?" a well-tailored waiter asked us, nodding to his tray filled with champagne flutes.

"Yes please!" I responded with a smile as Ethan grabbed us each a glass. He offered one to me and we clinked glasses before drinking.

Ethan and I continued weaving our way through fellow patrons, trying to find the rest of our RangeMan party. Towards the back of the room there were large French doors opened to reveal an enormous backyard which had been completely transformed for this evening's event. A large white tent was set up with several 10-person tables adorned with white linens and red and black floral centerpieces. Each of the white chairs had a black tulle bow tied around the back, completing the look. At the far end of the backyard, I could just barely make out a wooden dance floor and area for a band to set up.

"Ooh, food," Ethan noted, halting one of the waiters so we could try some canapés. "Mmmm, these are delicious!"

"Oh my gosh, yesss," I agreed wholeheartedly.

We'd just finished our hors d'oeuvre when I heard Bobby's deep voice call out to me, "Bomber!" I turned around to find a very dashing tux-clad Bobby and his date who's milk chocolate skin tone contrasted dramatically with her emerald sequined halter dress with a V-neck and cutout accents at her waist.

"Hi Bobby," I said, wrapping my arms around him in a quick hug, "this is my friend Ethan."

"Nice to meet you. Steph, Ethan, this is Jasmine," Bobby introduced his girlfriend as we all shook hands.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" I gushed.

"You too, Bobby's told me a lot about you!" Jasmine replied.

"The funeral house fire wasn't my fault, honestly!" I exclaimed causing our foursome to bust out in laughter. "So, Bobby told me you two met at the hospital?"

"Mhmm, I was just getting off shift and Bobby was checking in on one of the guys who was getting stitches."

"And you're a pediatrician, right?"

"Yup. Why, are you in the market for one?" Jasmine asked jokingly.

"Actually, I am. I've been meaning to find one for my daughter."

Jasmine handed me a business card out of her bronze, beaded clutch. "You have a daughter?"

"Yes. Technically she's my goddaughter, but I was named her guardian after her parents passed a few weeks ago," I explained reluctantly. It was such a beautiful evening and I really didn't want to bring down the mood.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. What's her name?" Jasmine asked, her tone comforting and sincere.

"Krista, her name is Krista. And thanks, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind."

"Krista, what an interesting name," Jasmine commented.

"Yeah, I like that it's unique, just like her."

"Mhmm. Speaking of unique names, I've come across some of the _most_ ridiculous names at work."

"Really? Like what?" I asked eagerly.

"Well, one woman named her son Japostrophe and she spelled it J followed by an apostrophe!" Jasmine explained animatedly.

"Oh wow, that _is_ unique."

"Yeah, and her name was Ladasha spelled L hyphen a!"

"That's pretty crazy, but I think I can top it. I once had a skip whose name was pronounced a-shole-ie but it was spelled asshole!" I added.

"No way? Seriously?!" Jasmine asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, and I didn't know how to pronounce his name correctly so I'm chasing this guy down Grover Street, yelling 'Asshole stop, you're in violation of your bond'," I shared amid laughter from my friends.

"Oh my gosh," Jasmine managed to say, "that is the most ridiculous thing! Did you get the guy?"

"Oh yeah, Beautiful _always_ gets her man!" Lester announced proudly, swinging an arm around me and pulling me into a quick hug. Tank, Lula, Lester and his date, Candi (yes, with an 'I') had just joined at one of the cocktail tables. Tank and Lester were both looking alarmingly dapper in their tuxes and Candi was dressed in a strapless, fuchsia, trumpet style dress.

"Which skip we're you talking about?" Lula asked once we'd gotten through another round of introductions. Lula looked radiant in her curve hugging, hombre dress that went from burgundy at the bottom to gold at the top. It had one shoulder strap with ruffles and beading that was dense at the bottom and thinned out farther up the gown. Lula's look was completed by red glittery platform strappy sandals, a ruby red streak in her otherwise chestnut hair and the sunset hued corsage she'd demanded Tank get her that matched his boutonniere.

"A-shole-ie, remember him?" I answered.

"Oh yeah, Asshole. I can't believe his momma named him that. Some people just cruel!" Lula said with a huge grin.

"So, how did you and Lester meet," I asked Candi with an 'i' in an attempt to include her in our conversation. Sure she looked like Bimbo Barbie, and knowing Lester's taste that was likely a generous assumption, but I didn't want her to feel left out or like we were snobby or something.

"We met at a bar where I was hanging out with some friends after a photoshoot at Point Pleasant," Candi said in a honeyed, falsetto tone.

"So you're a model?" Jasmine asked after sharing a telling look with Lula and myself.

"Yeah, I do mostly catalogue stuff part-time when I'm not working as a waitress."

"That sounds pretty exciting. Any fun stories?" I asked.

"Hey ladies," Lester interrupted, "there starting to seat us so we need to head out into the backyard," he said, hooking Candi's arm through his and leading us out into the backyard to our table.

We'd made it through about half of the backyard when I was assaulted by a tingle at the top of my spine alerting me to Ranger's presence. I looked around to spot the source of the tingle and almost tripped when my eyes landed on Ranger who was helping his beautiful date clad in a black gown with a sweetheart neckline into her seat. He looked GQ ready with his black on black tuxedo and diamond stud catching the light from the frosted globe string lights zigzagged throughout the backyard.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

I had just pulled Marcella's chair out when I felt a low buzz at the base of my spine indicating Steph was nearby. I looked up to find her staring at me with her expressive, blue eyes. She was wearing a floor length bodrum blue silk dress that looked like it was poured on her and had a plunging V-neckline and a slit that reached her upper thigh and revealed a toned, alabaster leg. I caught that she almost tripped when we made eye contact and couldn't help smiling that I had that effect on her.

"Good evening, this is my younger sister Marcella," I introduced. "And Marcella, this is Lula, Jasmine, Stephanie and I'm sure you remember Tank and Bobby."

"This is my friend, Candi, cuz," Lester added, introducing his alarmingly tan date and giving Marcella a hug.

"And this is Ethan," Steph introduced her date as everyone else got seated.

Marcella immediately turned to her right, eager to finally have a chance to talk to Steph. "It's really nice to meet you! I've heard so much about you over the past two years."

"Really?" Steph asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, Ranger fills me in on your escapades every now and then."

"The fires and explosions are rarely my fault!" Steph responded instinctively causing the table to laugh.

"If you say so Little Girl," Tank chortled.

"I don't mean it in a bad way, your life sounds very exciting. I especially love the story of Carlos' porsche being pancaked by the garbage truck!"

"Yeah, that was one of my more impressive car deaths," Steph agreed. "So Marcella, what do you do?"

"I curate the Children's Museum in Newark."

"Oh wow, I've heard really great things about it from patients and their families," Jasmine noted.

Stephanie nodded in agreement. "I've actually been meaning to make a trip out there sometime."

"You should definitely come soon. We're doing an Around the World Campaign right now and the current country in the spotlight is Australia."

"Oh how exciting! I think I'll try to take my daughter either tomorrow or in a few weeks."

Marcella's shot me a shocked look at hearing about Steph's daughter. "We have a few interactive displays that have gone over really well with the kids, I'm sure your daughter would really enjoy them."

"See now that's the kind of learning I could get behind! Something with games to keep things interesting!" Lula added enthusiastically eliciting a rare smile from Tank.

"if you stop by tomorrow, give me a call, I'll be there most of the afternoon getting things taken care of for our next exhibit," Marcella added, scribbling her cell number on the back of a business card and handing it to Steph.

"Thank you, I'll definitely give you a call if we make it out there tomorrow," Stephanie beamed confirming my concern. Steph and Marcella were well on their way to becoming close friends. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd started sharing stories about me. I just hoped that Steph wouldn't hear about how my older sisters used me as their doll when we were younger and forced me to attend tea parties.

"Good Evening!" I heard Giorgio Capello's voice boom over the speakers dispersed around the edges of the tent. I turned my attention to the back of the yard where he was standing on the band's stage. "Thanks to all of you for coming out tonight and supporting Trenton's Homeless Shelter," he announced, his smile not quite reaching his cold, calculating eyes and further accentuating his pointed chin. "I'd like to introduce Anthony Ciak who runs the shelter to come and say a few words before we get this party started!"

Finally, I thought, hopeful that the speech, meal and dancing would distract Marcella and Steph enough to keep Marcella from sharing too many embarrassing stories from my childhood.

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Brett POV

"Shit, that guy in the waiter getup, wasn't he on our list of people to watch out for?" I asked Junior subtly cocking my head towards the person in question.

"Good catch," Junior noted, "that's definitely Larson who's brother was injured in one of the Capello housing fires. "Cal, we've got Larson coming up to the waiter and staff entrance," Junior informed the team over our earbuds.

"I'm on my way, stay vigilant everyone," Cal replied.

As Larson finished sauntering up to us attempting at nonchalance, Junior and I got ready to subdue him in the least disruptive manner possible.

"Hey, I'm part of the wait staff," Larson stated once he'd reached Junior and myself.

"We're gonna need to see some identification," I said.

"Again? I just stepped out for a quick smoke. Besides, I left my wallet inside."

"Sorry, we can't let you in without checking your ID against our list," Junior added.

Larson had started to shift nervously now. "Seriously guys? Come on, be cool."

"No ID, no entrance," I reiterated sternly.

Larson backed away a bit and just when it seemed he was going to turn and leave, he charged me in a poorly planned attempt to gain entry into the benefit. I deftly sidestepped him, hooked my arm around his and used his momentum to swing him face first into the ground. I quickly cuffed him and patted him down for weapons. I hauled him upright after removing a gun that he'd tucked into the waist of his slacks just as Cal joined us.

"Report," he barked in true Ranger fashion.

"Larson was apprehended trying to enter the benefit. He had an unloaded 9 mm Glock on him," I answered succinctly, walking Larson over to one of the RangeMan SUVs with Cal while Junior manned the wait staff entrance solo. I dropped the gun into an evidence bag and helped Cal situate Larson in the backseat.

"What exactly were you planning on doing here tonight?" Cal asked Larson.

"Hand out hors d'oeuvre and champagne," Larson answered sarcastically.

"Look Larson, I'm trying to help you out here," Cal replied.

"How the fuck do you know my name?" Larson demanded.

"I'm good at my job, now tell me what you were planning on doing here."

"Please, you don't care about me. You just want to protect your scum boss!" Larson spat.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time and then I'm gonna call the cops to take you in. What were you planning on doing here tonight?" Cal said in a deadly calm tone.

"Fuck you!"

"Have it your way. Brett, call TPD and tell them to send an unmarked car to pick Larson up and remind them not to use their sirens, we don't want to disrupt the benefit. I'll have Manny cover for you at the door with Junior."

I nodded in response and pulled out my phone to call the TPD. I know Cal felt for Larson who was just trying to exact some justice despite how foolishly he went about it. It had to hurt that the man who put his brother in the ICU was hosting a party to buy goodwill from the people of Trenton which would allow him to continue to put people like his brother in danger.

I kinda wished he'd come with red paint or a sign or something less nefarious than the gun. The more peaceful protest stuff we could handle without having to call in the cops and put another victim of the Capellos' in prison. But a gun, well that sort of vigilante justice seeking was more likely to harm an innocent bystander than the actual target, especially when that target is a Capello who happens to have several no neck thugs for hire guarding them at any given time.

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SP POV

The evening was going wonderfully. There was a slightly tense moment when Ranger yaffed 'Report' at someone who called him drawing the attention of Tank, Lester and Bobby, however the situation seemed to be satisfactorily handled because none of them leapt up to help whoever it was that called.

Even though I was restricted to the vegetarian options, the meal was still delicious. The couscous stuffed bell pepper was particularly tasty and before I knew it the waiters were bringing out lava cake a la mode in individual white ramekins for all of the patrons. Well all of the patrons except Ranger, I guess he didn't want to pollute his temple with warm chocolate gooeyness, his loss because it was scrumptious. I proceeded to eat every last morsel of my dessert while moaning softly.

"So Steph, how's the dessert?" Ethan asked me quietly so only I could hear him.

"Amazing! Why? Didn't you like it?"

"I did, it's just that it sounds like you're having a religious experience or something with yours," Ethan joked.

"Sorry! I can't help it, this is just too good for me to not appreciate it vocally."

"Well I don't mind but it looks like some of the guys are having a tough time," Ethan noted with a smirk.

I looked up to see slightly tense Ranger trying to carry on a conversation with Jasmine and Bobby who were seated next to him. I shrugged my shoulders and continued to enjoy my dessert.

"Thank you all again for coming out tonight, I hope you enjoyed your dinner," Giorgio Capello's voice echoed through the tent. "Now we have The Whoop here to get the dancing portion of the evening started!" he said, introducing the band behind him.

I looked around our table and noticed the guys all turning on their microphones so I surreptitiously followed suit and did the same. My part of tonight's mission required me to keep a lookout for the Capello's, namely Giorgio, Franco and Mario, and their bodyguards from a central vantage point out on the dance floor.

"So, Ethan, you wanna dance?" I asked, holding out my hand. He smiled and grabbed my hand and we headed out to the dance floor to work of some of the chocolate yum we'd just eaten.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

Once the music began we all went into mission mode. Bobby and Jasmine would stay at our centrally located table to keep an eye out for the Capellos and their rent-a-thugs while Steph did the same out on the dance floor. Marcella and I stayed at our table for a bit as Tank and Lula then Lester and Candi staggered their return to the house with their pockets full of the bugs they'd be planting. A few minutes after they'd both entered the house, Marcella and I made our way back into the room where the cocktail hour had been hosted.

"So, do you wanna explain to me why we're posted up as lookouts here?" Marcella asked.

I shook my head and continued to rotate my gaze subtly around the room.

"Well then, do you want to talk to me about what's going on with you and Stephanie?"

I shook my head no again. I definitely didn't want to lose focus by thinking about Steph. Especially since she was currently dancing the night away in her _friend's_ arms.

"Fine, then at least explain to me how she now has a kid I've never heard you mention before," Marcella demanded.

I figured she definitely wouldn't let up on that one given her curiosity about Steph so I decided to cede and explain how Steph had gone from Krista's Aunt to her Mom. Hopefully it would distract her from asking any more prying questions before Tank and Lester finished securing our listening devices throughout the Capellos' house.

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Les POV

I cringed as I walked into one the upstairs bedrooms. The room was decorated in a style that even Liberace would find excessive. "Wow, this room is a bit over the top." There was a king-sized, gilded, canopy bed with matching gilded dresser, night stands and trunk at the foot of the bed. The carpet was red with an intricate gold leaf pattern woven throughout it and the bedspread was tufted crimson crushed velvet with gaudy gold detailing.

"I kinda like it, it's very princess-y," Cindi commented.

This was the downside to dating women who were easily distracted by shiny objects, which this room definitely qualified as. Oh well, she was hot and willing, which is all I was looking for tonight. I walked Cindi over to the bed while kissing her and covertly hid a listening device behind the headboard. One down, four more to go, I thought as I leaned Cindi over the bed, thankful that Ranger hadn't specifically forbade any multitasking on my part.

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Marcella POV

"Santos is exiting the house," Carlos announced to the other guys, I'm assuming. He wasn't saying it for my benefit because I'd just seen Lester and a slightly disheveled Candi entering the backyard a little after Tank and Lula had.

"So, is the super secret spy stuff done? Because I really _really_ need to go the bathroom."

"Ya, we're done here," Carlos said, as he placed his hand at my back and led me towards the bathroom.

"Carlos, you don't have to wait on me, head back out to the party and I'll meet you there in a few," I said, pushing Carlos towards the backyard. After taking care of business and fixing my make-up I opened the bathroom door to find Stephanie at the front of a several person line waiting on the bathroom. I really wanted to talk to her about Carlos and I figured now was as good a time as any. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom with me shooting an apologetic look at the women behind her before closing the door.

"Hey! What's going on?" Steph exclaimed as she vaulted forwards into the bathroom.

"Sorry, it's just I wanted to talk to you without my brother or anyone else overhearing," I explained. "I just want to know what's going on with you and Carlos."

"Look, your brother is a good friend of mine who I admire and respect and I really don't feel comfortable talking abo-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get all that, but what I don't get is why you're here with a date when it's clear to everyone that you two should be together."

"It's… complicated. Given the… discrepancies between what we want in our lives from a relationship, it's best that we stay firmly in the friend-zone. I know it might not seem like we're making the best choice, but I promise it's what's best for us."

"So you _don't_ want to date my brother?" I asked incredulously. She opened her mouth a few times to respond but didn't manage to say anything. I finally decided to change the question because it seemed the previous one broke her. "It seems like there's almost tangible chemistry between you two and it's odd that you'd deny it, especially since you do like and respect each other," I added softly.

Stephanie nodded in response and touched up her make-up before answering me. "The thing is that we want different things and now that I have Krista to think of also, I really can't afford to demand any less… commitment than I want and deserve," she finally said cautiously. "I'm sorry if that's not what you where hoping to hear, but I hope you can respect Ranger and my decision and that we can still be friends," she added before hurrying out of the bathroom.

What exactly were the differences between what Carlos and Stephanie wanted from a romantic relationship? I knew how deeply Carlos cared for Stephanie, whether or not he'd admit it, and it was clear from Stephanie's actions and the way she looked at him that she felt the same way about Carlos. Hell, it was obvious to anyone who'd spent anytime with the two of them. I wonder what Ethan thought about it, I contemplated as I headed out of the bathroom and made a beeline for Stephanie's date who was seated at our table with Lester and Candi. There had to be some way to convince Ethan to stand down and let Stephanie and my brother have a chance.

"Hi Ethan," I said, sitting down next to him and ignoring my cousin who's tongue was dueling with his date's. "I was wondering if I could ask you a kinda personal question?"

"Sure, what's on your mind Marcella?" he answered kindly.

"Well, I was wondering what your relationship with Stephanie is? Are you dating?"

Ethan let out a short bark of laughter. "No, we're just friends, besides she's not really my type. Why?"

"Not your type huh?"

"I'm not buying what she's selling." Ethan elaborated when he registered my confusion, "I bat for the other team."

"Oh. Well, I was wondering if she'd mentioned my brother to you."

"Yeah, she's talked about him," he answered cautiously.

"Did she ever mention anything about why they aren't together? Because it seems like they should be."

"Agreed, you could practically choke on the sexual tension between them. As far as I know they care about each other and are good together but want different things, long-term," Ethan explained.

"How so?" I asked, curious as to what the problem could be.

"Well… I don't want to malign your brother, but I think he's convinced himself that he wasn't long-term relationship material and hasn't thought to adjust it now that he's met someone he could actually see long-term potential with."

"Ugh, that idiot!" I exclaimed. "Do you think we could do anything to sort of push them together?"

"That's exactly why I'm here. I'm Steph's date as part of Operation Make Ranger Jealous!"

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips and slightly disrupted Lester's makeout session. "That is hilarious, and I think it's been fairly effective so far!"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure it's enough to get your brother to actually make a move," Ethan added thoughtfully. "Steph wasn't kidding about him being Mr. Control."

"Hmm, maybe we could get Carlos to take Stephanie home, give them a little one on one time together tonight while they're all dressed up," I suggested.

"Okay, I could give you a ride home if Ranger takes Steph, but it has to be Ranger who initiates it. I don't want to force something on Ranger, and Steph wouldn't want that either."

"I agree, women want to be genuinely desired, not just thrust on someone by circumstances or pushy friends."

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SP POV

I hurried back to our table after escaping from the confines of the bathroom, still reeling from my conversation with Ranger's sister when I walked into the man of the night, Giorgio Capello himself. So much for being aware of my surroundings.

"Stephanie, bella, you look ravishing tonight!" Giorgio said in an uncomfortably gushing tone.

I tried not to cringe at or shake off the hand he'd placed on my bare back. "Thank you Mr. Capello. And congratulations on the success of your benefit, it's truly been a magical evening."

"You're too kind. And thank you and RangeMan for your support."

I nodded in acknowledgement and surreptitiously pinched the nickel sized bug from my clutch. If Capello Senior was going to make me incredibly uncomfortable with his creepy attention the least I could do was use it to nail his ass. "We're glad to help."

"A dance?" he asked, although I was fairly certain it wasn't a request so much as a statement of what was to come or even a demand. I smiled and hooked my non-bug toting hand through the crook of his elbow and let him lead me out onto the dance floor.

When we reached, he placed my left hand at his shoulder and just before he clasped my right in his left I fake stumbled against him distracting him with some well timed upper body contact and slipped the bug into his left trouser pocket. And the Merry Men don't think I have tactical awareness!

"Oops, sorry. These heels are gorgeous but I'm not quite used to them yet," I said in my best ditzy blonde voice as I straightened up and we began dancing.

"Babe, are you okay?" Ranger asked over the earbud, his voice tight with concern. I nodded my head minutely in response and sent a smile his way. "I don't like this," Ranger replied.

After a few minutes of dancing and Giorgio's hand steadily moving lower and lower down my back I was hoping one of my Merry Men to would cut in and keep me from deploying some of my newly acquired self-defense moves on a RangeMan client. Well client _and_ target. Sheesh, usually the Merry Men were hella overprotective and big brother-y, where was that now when I needed it? Nowhere to be found, that's where. It only came out in full force during an on phase with Morelli or when they quickly and not so stealthily vetted my date for the night, Ethan.

I was just about to grab Giorgio's hand and reposition it when I felt a tingle in the back of my neck telegraphing Ranger's presence.

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RM POV

After extricating Steph from Giorgio Capello I twirled her towards me, holding her close with one hand at the small of her back and another holding her right hand against my chest. We began dancing as the band started playing Wonderwall, which was surprisingly appropriate. Steph was definitely my wonderwall.

I held her close as we swayed, reveling in the feel of her pressed up against me, the intoxicating scent of her shampoo and the smooth silk of her gown. A more lively song started up with a latin beat and I couldn't help myself from dusting off my salsa moves and seeing if Steph could keep up. As always, she didn't disappoint. I spun her around the dance floor as we moved our hips in unison, completely oblivious to the world outside of each other.

"Dios, tenerte en mis brazos siente como volver a casa," I whispered into her neck as the tendrils of hair framing her face tickled me. (Translation: God, having you in my arms feels like coming home.)

We continued to dance until the band switched to another slow song and Ethan tapped on my shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

I nodded stiffly, "sure," I bit out, using considerable restraint to curb myself from overreacting, or from what _normal_ people would deem overreacting. I was just about to turn and leave when Steph laid her hand on my bicep.

"Yo siento lo mismo acerca de estar en sus brazos.," she said wistfully, completely taking me by surprise. Babe knew Spanish. When did that happen, I wondered as I walked off the dance floor in a daze. (Translation: I feel the same way about being in your arms.)

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

"Damn Steph, that was _hot_, even to me and I'm not usually a fan of the whole hetero thing!" Ethan exclaimed, expertly twirling me around the dance floor. "So, I've been meaning to ask you, is everyone you work with devastatingly handsome?" Ethan asked with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

"Yeah," I sighed after curbing my giggling, "it's stupid how hot they are."

"Huh?"

"I just mean they're sooo hot, it makes me a little stupid. Oh and the guys you met tonight, I don't work with them so much as for them."

"You mean under them?! Lucky girl!"

"Oh no. No no no no no. I couldn't handle working _under_ them. Well, except for, you know…" I tapered off, not wanting to ruin the evening by reminiscing about the short-lived dalliance I had with Ranger.

"Oh you mean when you were boffing the boss man?!" Ethan clarified with smirk.

"How dare you sir!" I feigned outrage which was quickly forgotten in another fit of giggles as we continued dancing.

A few songs later Ethan and I were interrupted by Lester's hand on my shoulder. "Mind if I cut in Beautiful?" Ethan handed me off to Lester who pulled me in tight and started swaying. "So Beautiful, you think I'm hot?" Lester asked with a lecherous grin.

"What?! I-no-what?" I exclaimed, blushing and confused as to how he'd overheard my conversation with Ethan.

"It's only natural, I am quite the male specimen. Oh and you're mic is still on."

Of course it is I thought dryly as the blush suffusing my face darkened considerably. I, Stephanie Plum, managed to slip a bug into the pocket of crime family patriarch Giorgio Capello but still found a way to embarrass myself in front of the men I work for by discussing their undeniable hotness.

After the song we were dancing to finished, we headed back to our table where Tank, Lula, Ranger and Candi were seated. Jasmine, Bobby, Ethan and Marcella were out on the dance floor.

"Hey Lula," I said, sitting down beside her, "you having fun?"

"Girl, you know I am! I'm just cooling down after Tank and I got our makeout on half the rooms in the house!" she said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"What?!"

"You heard me. Tank just can't get enough of this!" Lula said, running her hand down her side. "It's the corsage effect, get's guys thinking all prom night and shit and they just can't keep their hands to themselves!" Lula announced leading us both into a fit of giggles. "It's a shame your date's gay, or you coulda gotten in on the benefits of the corsage effect too!"

I nodded in agreement. There was no denying Lula's logic.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

Most of our group was seated around our table as the benefit started winding down. I noticed Steph was looking a bit tired and when I saw her attempt to stifle a yawn I decided to call it a night. "Babe, are you ready to head home?"

"Oh no, I'm fine," she responded.

"Steph, did you want to leave?" Ethan asked.

"No, I'm having fun," she said adamantly despite letting out another yawn.

"Well, there were a few work things I needed to go over with you, if you're ready to leave," I lied.

"Ranger, I came with Ethan," Steph said sternly, implying that she'd be leaving with him as well.

"Well, if you two need to leave now, maybe Ethan could give me a ride home a little later," Marcella suggested. I was instantly grateful I'd thought to bring her as my date despite her prying questions. "Would that be okay Ethan?"

"Sure, if it's okay with Steph," Ethan answered diplomatically.

"Mkay, I am feeling a bit sleepy," Steph said, rising from her seat and allowing me to guide her out of the party and towards the valet stand with my hand at the uncovered small of her back. It looks like I'd get to spend some one on one time with Steph after all. Maybe we could talk about her assertion to Marcella that we wanted different things long-term.

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AN: The names J', L-a and Asshole are real names a pediatrician friend told me about!


	24. Chapter 24

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to all of the readers out there and to those of you who've reviewed! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Mare POV

I was disrupted from weekly movie night with my husband by the doorbell ringing. "That must be Steph," I announced, leaping off the tan suede couch and heading for the door while dodging some rogue toys that were strewn about as Lenny paused the movie.

"Wow, Steph. You look incredible!" I gushed as I let Steph in.

"Thanks!"

"You're cutting it kinda close there Cinderella," I said, gesturing to my watch which indicated it was a couple minutes to midnight.

"I know, I know, sorry Mare. I meant to be here like thirty minutes ago, but party just kept on going and no one really wanted to leave," Steph apologized.

"It's no big deal Steph, you could've stayed later if you wanted to," I said, leading her to the guest room where Krista was sleeping.

"I was ready to leave, unfortunately my date wasn't and somehow Ranger ended up giving me a ride home," Steph said, nonchalantly.

"What?! You mean that's the Batmobile idling at the curb right now?"

"Yup," Steph said while scooping a still sleeping a purple paisley pajama wearing Krista up off the bed. I followed her to the front door carrying Krista's car-seat, shoes and her backpack which had toys, coloring books and the clothes she was wearing earlier.

"So how was the benefit? And what's going on with you and Ranger?" I asked as we headed out to Ranger's Porsche Cayenne.

"The benefit was amazing and sooo much fun, and I have _no_ idea as to what's going on with Ranger. Hopefully we'll get a chance to talk either tonight or soon," Steph answered. "It feels like maybe he wants more but then he does or says something that makes me think nothing's changed."

"I want details!" I demanded.

"Okay, at girls' night this Thursday, I missed the last one so I'm definitely going to make it this week."

"Sounds good," I said just as we reached Ranger who had exited the car to help Steph load Krista's car-seat into the back seat and buckle her in. I gave Steph a quick hug and waved goodbye to Ranger before hurrying back inside to finish _Olympus Has Fallen_ with Lenny. I couldn't wait until Thursday to hear about the benefit and what was going on between Ranger and Steph.

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RM POV

"I insist Babe. I'll carry Krista up so you can unlock the doors," I said obstinately, lifting Krista effortlessly out of her car-seat and holding her against me with my right arm while I carried her car-seat in my left hand. Krista's lips were pressed together in an adorable little pout and her long, dark hair had started to come out of her French-braid from earlier in the day.

"Okay, fine, you win," Steph ceded reluctantly as she carried Krista's backpack and slipped off her sinful platform sandals before walking barefoot into the elevator. She pressed the button for the seventh floor. "What? My feet are killing me!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"But you were thinking it."

"Babe, all I was thinking about is how gorgeous you look tonight and how hot those shoes are," I explained candidly with a small smile when I noticed Steph's blush.

"Thanks for leaving the benefit early to give me a ride, I was getting pretty tired," Steph said after returning to a more natural hue.

"Anytime Babe. Besides, I was ready to leave as well and you provided me with the perfect excuse to do so," I shared as we strolled down the hallway and stopped in front of apartment 714.

Steph quickly unlocked the door, entered the alarm code and held the door open for me. I followed Steph past the kitchen and living room into Krista's purple themed bedroom and placed her gently in the bed Steph had just finished turning down. After Steph tucked Krista snugly in and placed a kiss at her temple, we both headed back out into the living room.

"Water?" Steph asked, heading towards the fridge.

"That'd be great," I replied, taking a seat on one of Steph's plush, charcoal sofas.

Steph handed me a water bottle and sat with her legs underneath her at the opposite end of the sofa I was on with her back against the armrest so she could face me. "So, what work thing did you need to talk to me about?" Steph asked sarcastically.

"You got me Babe, there's no work thing," I admitted, causing Steph to smile. "So," I began after a few moments of silence, "Ethan's gay?"

"Seriously, _that's_ what you want to talk about right now?" Steph snorted with disbelief.

"No, not really," I replied.

"So what _do_ you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk about your conversation with Marcella in the bathroom, your mic was on and we all heard you two."

Steph immediately blushed an adorable shade of pink and looked down at the water bottle in her lap whose label she'd been shredding. "Stupid mic," Steph muttered under her breath. "Sorry about that. What about our conversation did you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about the difference you mentioned between what you and I want in our lives long-term," I said candidly, reaching over to lift her chin with a finger so that she could see the sincerity in my eyes.

"Well, has anything changed for you? Do you want more than just a casual fling? Can you handle a long-term relationship and all that it entails?" she fired rapidly at me.

I honestly didn't know what to say. I knew that my stance on a relationship with Steph had shifted recently, but I still wasn't quite sure what I was ready to give or what exactly I wanted aside from the fact that I definitely wanted Steph.

Steph took my silence as my answer and stood up. "Ranger, I think it's time for you to leave," she stated firmly, hands akimbo, her eyes darkening to the color of her gown.

I tried to grab her hand and pull her back down onto the sofa. "Babe, just give me a min-"

"No Ranger, it's past midnight and I've got a long day tomorrow," she explained, taking a few steps back and situating the coffee table between us.

I reluctantly got up and headed to the apartment door with Steph following me. The silence between us was deafening. By the time I'd reached the elevators she'd locked the door and reset the alarm.

I can't believe I choked, I thought as I angled myself back into my Cayenne. All I had to do was tell her how important she was to me and instead I said nothing. _Nothing_! Smooth, Manoso, real smooth, I chastised myself.

Maybe what I needed to do was spend more time with Steph and maybe she'd realize through my actions that I wanted to be a permanent fixture in her life. Her's and Krista's.

I remembered Julie mentioning something about Ella teaching Steph how to cook on Sundays during our call this morning. That could work, I thought, an evening spent cooking and eating with Steph. I'd call Ella first thing in the morning to get her recipe and talk her into letting me coopt her plans with Steph. I knew Ella not so secretly wished Steph and I would get together, so it shouldn't be too hard to get her over on my side. Finally, something was going my way!

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

Krista and I were spending our Sunday morning brushing and pampering a few of the dogs at the pound. "So Krista, did you have fun yesterday with Aunt Mare and her boys?"

"Mhmm, Aun-Mommy, we played legoes and Wii and did a really big puzzle!" she announced.

Every time she called me Mommy my breath caught a little and I had to rapidly blink away tears. "Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun!"

"Yeah, I wish you could've played with us. Did you have fun at your grownup party?"

"I did, but I definitely missed you munchkin. So, are you ready to play a little fetch with these guys?" I asked as we corralled some of the dogs out into the fenced lawn area at the back entrance of the pound.

"Mhmm, that's my favorite part!"

We played fetch with 5 dogs for about thirty minutes before deciding we were hungry and needed some fortification. We put all of the brushes and balls we'd used back, said goodbye to Sara and Matt who ran the pound and headed to Pino's for lunch. I was hopefully optimistic that their veggie pizza would be just as delicious as their meatball subs.

"Krista, how do you feel about going to the Children's Museum in Newark after lunch?" I asked Krista who was safely ensconced in her car-seat in the back of my RangeMan BMW.

"What will we do at the mu-museum?"

"Well there will be an exhibits and activities where we can learn about interesting things. It'll be lots of fun. What do you say, munchkin?"

"Okay!" I heard Krista agree excitedly from the backseat as I pulled into Pino's parking lot.

We'd just reached then door under the red and white striped awning when Joe exited with his arm draped around the waist of a pretty, petit blond who was clearly his date.

"Mr. Uncle Joe!" Krista greeted excitedly.

"Hey Joe," I added, giving him a quick hug.

"Hey Cup-Steph, this is my girlfriend Heidi," Joe introduced us as we shook hands. "I think I mentioned her to you the last time we ran into each other here."

Oh, I thought, that would make Heidi the nurse whose number he got after one of his buddies needed stitches because of a particularly rowdy poker night. "It's nice to meet you, this is my daughter Krista."

"Nice to meet you both," Heidi parroted with a sincere smile.

"Well, we're going to head in for our lunch, we've got a big day planned." I said, leading Krista into Pino's.

"Yeah, we're gonna go to the museum and we have cooking lessons with Aunt Ella tonight!" Krista announced eliciting a shocked look from Joe.

"Cooking, Cupcake? I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Yeah well, things change. It was nice seeing you," I said, turning away from Joe and Heidi and letting the door to Pino's shut behind us. It was nice seeing Joe, but I didn't really have much in common with my old life in which he fit so comfortably. We'd always be friends and I wanted him to be happy, I just didn't see us having anything more than a casual friendship.

:::::::::::::::

Lester POV

Fucking monitoring duty, I thought as I cued up another of the bugs we planted at the Capellos last night. So far I'd been cooped up in my office and had only gone through about a third of the recordings with no end in sight. At least we used the smart bugs that only recorded when noise was present, which prolonged the battery life and cut down on the man-hours required for monitoring the listening devices.

I started listening to the bug Steph's quick thinking and incredible luck allowed her to plant on Giorgio Capello. After a few mind-numbing hours of him making small talk with benefit attendees I finally hit pay dirt. Capello was discussing cutting corners in his slums and who needed to be bribed for him to continue his lucrative, misanthropic venture with his inner circle of trusted employees. They went on to discuss their money laundering endeavors and various other criminal activities.

Of course Steph would plant the bug that would bust this case wide open. Thank god Ranger finally convinced her to come work at RangeMan full time, I thought as I dialed Ranger to let him know that we had the intel the FBI and TPD needed to nail the Capellos.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

Krista and I looked around the Newark Children's Museum's atrium in awe. There was a quatrefoil-based water fountain in the center, information desks to our left, an elevator bank and several hallways that had brightly colored street signs to indicate which exhibits they led to. The ambiance was juvenescent and I couldn't help getting excited right along with Krista.

"Mommy, we _have_ to make a wish," Krista said, pulling me toward the fountain and holding out a hand for some change. I pulled out two pennies for us to make wishes on. Once we'd finished, we headed towards the information desk.

"Hello, how can I help you today?" Eric, per his nametag, asked.

"Hi, I was wondering if I could get admission tickets for my daughter and I."

"Okay, are you sure you don't want to purchase the yearlong membership?"

"What would be the benefit of that?" I asked, wary that this was going to be like getting suckered into purchasing that gym membership it took me nearly a year to get out of.

"Well, the yearly membership cost will be $55 per adult and $35 per child and the daily admission pass will cost $12 for you and $7 for your daughter. So basically if you think you'll come more than 5 times a year, the membership is the cheaper way to go," Eric explained.

Five times a year, so once every two months or so. Yeah, I thought, Krista and I could definitely make it out here every two-ish months. "I think we'll get the membership please."

"Good choice, that's going to come out to $90."

Once I'd paid and gotten the passes we headed to the other side of the fountain to decide which exhibit to start with. "Ok munchkin, we can pick between dinosaurs, science, historical figures, art, countries and cultures."

"Hmmm, I pick that we start with Dinosaurs!" Krista answered, buzzing with excitement.

"Okay, let's get going!" I said, heading down the hallway marked dinosaurs with Krista's hand in mine. I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Marcella's number. She answered after a few rings.

"Hello, this is Marcella," she answered.

"Hi Marcella, this is Stephanie Plum, we met last night."

"Oh hi Stephanie! How's it going?"

"Really well. Krista and I decided to stop by the Newark Children's Museum today and I was wondering if you were around."

"I am actually, but I'm busy at the moment. There's an art activity where children will learn about Van Gogh and make their own paintings to take home at 3pm. I could meet you at the art exhibit then, if that works for you," she suggested.

"That sounds perfect. I'm sure Krista would love to do a little painting today!"

"Okay, see you then. Bye Stephanie."

"Bye," I said, clicking shut the phone and focusing on the impressive triceratop skeleton in front of us.

After an hour of exploring the Triassic and Jurassic eras, Krista and I headed to the colorfully tiled art exhibit activity room wallpapered in children's artwork. There were several tables set up at heights for both teenagers and younger children closer to Krista's age along with a rack of various sized aprons and a wall of shelves filled with art supplies.

"Stephanie!" I heard someone call out. I turned around to see Marcella entering the activity room dressed in a very chic sheath dress in coral that contrasted sharply with her tanned skin.

"Hi Marcella," I said, giving her a quick hug, "this is Krista. Krista, this is Mr. Ranger's little sister Marcella."

"Hi Krista, it's very nice to meet you." Marcella said.

"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Mar-Marcella," Krista replied, shaking Marcella's outstretched hand.

"Are you having a fun day at the museum?" Marcella asked.

"Mhmm, we sawed the dinosaurs and now I'm going to do a painting!" Krista announced excitedly.

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!" Marcella replied, mirroring Krista's beaming smile.

"Children, come on up and get an apron and your art supplies," a woman in her twenties with a nametag reading Felicity said.

"Go on," I said, pointing Krista towards Felicity where a short line of children had formed. "Thanks for suggesting we come here, Krista's really enjoyed all of the interactive learning exhibits."

"I'm just glad I finally got a chance to meet you and that you two decided to come. We've put a lot of effort into the exhibits and I love hearing how much children are enjoying them."

"Well, you've done a really amazing job," I complemented.

"I'm actually really glad we got a chance to talk after last night. I wanted to apologize for putting you on the spot and asking you about things with my brother. I just want him to be happy and I get frustrated sometimes."

"No worries, and I should warn you that due to an oversight of mine the guys all heard our... conversation."

"Seriously? Man, that's awkward. Sorry."

"It actually opened the door for Ranger and I to have a candid conversation, although Ranger didn't really say much so the conversation didn't get anywhere, but still, it did kinda help," I admitted.

"You're welcome, I guess," Marcella replied as we watched Krista and the other children paint their own versions of Van Gogh's _The Starry Night_.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

How did Ella get past the front door without me buzzing her in, I wondered as I went to answer the knock at our apartment door. I opened it to reveal Ranger sporting distressed jeans and a white Henley shirt holding a large paper bag filled with groceries and his traffic stopping smile. I suppose Ranger's presence at my door explains why no one buzzed to be let in. Batman didn't need to be buzzed in.

"Ranger? Fancy meeting you here," I said, stepping aside to let Ranger enter. I followed him to the sunny kitchen where he was unloading the groceries.

"Ella had something come up, so I'm filling in for her," Ranger announced, his attention never straying from mine. "Babe, where is your chopping board?"

"Ranger, seriously, what are you doing here?" I asked as I pulled out the chopping board but refrained from handing it over to. After the conversation we had last night, or lack thereof, I wasn't sure why Ranger was going out of his way to spend time with me. For someone who was staunchly anti-relationship, coming over to teach me how to cook screamed boyfriend.

"I'm here to teach you how to make risotto."

"You didn't have to fill in for Ella, Ranger, I'm sure you're far too busy. Ella and I can just rescheduled or skip this week."

"It's really no bother Babe. I like cooking, even though I don't get a chance to do it much. It relaxes me," Ranger replied.

"Okay, if you're sure."

"I am."

"So what are we making tonight?" I asked, circling the kitchen counter to stand next to Ranger.

"Well, I hear you're vegetarian now?"

I nodded, confirming the rumors. "Yup, Krista and I have gone meatless."

"Why?"

"Krista didn't want to eat animals after she fell in love with the zoo," I explained succinctly.

"Proud of you Babe," Ranger said, shooting me a quick smile. "Now, will you please hand me the chopping board?" Ranger asked with his hand stretched out.

"Actually, Ella usually tells me what to do so I can get practice at the actual cooking. So, what needs to be chopped teach?"

"I need you to finely dice half an onion and two zucchinis and mince 3 garlic cloves," Ranger read off a recipe sheet, handing me the vegetables. "While you do that, I'm going to start warming the vegetable broth and some olive oil."

"Okay, could you bring one of the stools around in front of the stove so Krista can help out. We sort of do this as an activity all together."

"Of course," Ranger said, intentionally brushing past me to get a stool.

"Krista," I called out, "it's time for our cooking lesson."

A few seconds later we heard the pitter patter of Krista's feet as she ran into the kitchen, excited for her lesson. "Hey, you're not Aunt Ella!"

"Aunt Ella was busy, so Mr. Ranger came over to teach us how to make risotto instead," I explained.

"Krista, do you think you could help me?" Ranger asked Krista.

"Mhmm, Mr. Ranger. What do you need help with?" Krista answered sweetly.

"Well, right now, we need to warm up the broth. Then once Aunt Stephanie's-"

"Mommy, I call her Mommy now," Krista interrupted with a serious expression and her hands firmly fisted at her waist.

Ranger nodded in response. "When Mommy's done with the onions and garlic, we'll add them to the oil."

"Okay," she said, holding her hands out for Ranger to lift her and sit her on the stool he'd placed in front of the stove.

While they were stirring salt, pepper and oregano into the broth, I quickly chopped the onion and minced the garlic. "Here guys," I said, handing Ranger the chopping board.

"Thanks Babe," Ranger said, sliding the onions and garlic into the pan with the oil. "Okay Krista, I need you to keep stirring this so nothing gets burned, are you up to the challenge?" Ranger asked playfully.

"Mhmm Mr. Ranger, I can do it!" Krista exclaimed, steadily stirring the pan with a wooden spoon. I was really appreciative and impressed with the patience Ranger was displaying while interacting with Krista. Definitely _not_ a side of Ranger I'd ever expected. And even hotter than sweaty gym Ranger.

I finished chopping the zucchinis while Ranger and Krista manned the stove. Once I was done I stood behind Krista, watching as the onions caramelized.

"Okay, see how the onions are looking a little clear, that means their caramelized," Ranger explained. "Now we'll add the rice and slowly add all of the broth while you keep stirring, okay?" Ranger asked while adding the rice.

Krista nodded in assent and continued stirring diligently.

"So, when do we add the zucchini?" I asked as I removed plates, silverware and glasses for three from their respective cupboards and drawers throughout the kitchen.

Ranger consulted the recipe sheet before responding. "In about twenty minutes we'll mix in the zucchini, when all of the broth has been added to the rice. Then after another five minutes we'll mix in some parmesan cheese and then it'll be ready to eat."

"Mhmm," I replied, heading into the dining room to set the table. "So, what's for dessert?" I called out to him.

"Babe, that stuff'll kill you."

"Mr. Ranger, we _have_ to have dessert! It's the most important part. Last week Aunt Ella taught us how to make tiramisu."

"I see you've already corrupted this particular minor," Ranger responded with a playful glint in his eye.

"Give it up Ranger, I know Ella wouldn't have sent you over here without something for dessert!" I demanded.

"Fine Babe, we have strawberries, frozen yogurt and carob chips for dessert," Ranger ceded.

"That sounds delicious, and it's fruit, so it's healthy!" I announced. "Doesn't that sound yummy munchkin?"

"Mhmm Mommy."

Twenty minutes later the three of us were seated at the maple dining table and digging into the aromatic vegetable risotto.

"This is sooo yummy!" Krista commented around a mouthful of risotto.

"Mhmm, this is really delicious. Thanks Ranger!"

"Anytime Babe. And the thanks goes to Ella, it's her recipe."

"Well she is a culinary genius," I asserted.

"Aunt Ella's the bestest!" Krista added exuberantly.

Ranger spent a very relaxing evening with Krista and I. He even polluted the temple with some dessert, much to my surprise. Although that wasn't nearly as surprising as him playing candy land, demanding to be the blue piece and enjoying it. Before I knew it, it was time for Krista to go to bed.

"Alright munchkin, it's time for bed."

"Nooo, I wanna play more games with Mr. Ranger!" Krista huffed.

"Sorry, you can play with Mr. Ranger another time. Right now you need to brush and change, okay?"

"Mkay Mommy. But I want Mr. Ranger to tell me my story tonight, please."

"Krista, Mr. Ranger's busy. How about I tell you a story instead?" I asked, not wanting to put Ranger on the spot or force him into spending time with us that he'd rather not.

"I'd like to tell you a bedtime story," Ranger added, surprising us both.

"Okay Mr. Ranger, I'll be ready in a few minutes," Krista announced before heading to her bathroom.

"Ranger, you don't have to do this, it's okay if you need to leave. We've already taken up a lot of your time," I said, giving Ranger an out.

"Babe, I'm exactly where I want to be," Ranger reassured me. "So what type of stories does she like?"

After taking a moment to judge whether or not he was being honest I decided he was and answered his question. "For the most part I've been fairy tale-ifying stories from my life and she's been enjoying them."

"Okay, that sounds easy enough."

"Mhmm, just remember to keep it G-rated," I reminded him.

"I'm ready for my story!" Krista called out from her room.

"Let's go Mr. Ranger, it's time for your story telling debut," I said with a smirk.

"After you," Ranger said, following me into Krista's bedroom. I tucked her snuggly into bed and dropped a kiss on her forehead before sitting on the arm of the chair Ranger was occupying.

"Okay Mr, Ranger, I'm ready for my story!" Krista said excitedly.

"This story is about Princess Stephanie and how she saved her friend Sir Carlos from the evil wizard Alexander Ramos," Ranger began, a playful glint illuminating his normally stoic features.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

"That was quite a story you told," Stephanie complimented me, taking a long sip of the red wine we'd cracked open after putting Krista to bed.

"Thanks. I'm surprised I managed to keep it G-rated," I said with small smile.

"So Ranger, why exactly did you coopt our cooking lessons with Ella?" Steph asked while snuggling into the teal throw that had recent been perched on the sofa. I could tell from the set of her jaw that she wasn't willing to let this go without an honest answer.

"I was hoping we could have a redo of last night's conversation," I finally admitted.

"So you don't really find cooking relaxing, do you?"

"Not so much, Babe. Although cooking with you and Krista was _very_ fun."

"So, what exactly were you hoping to talk about?"

"I guess more so than talking I just wanted to spend time with you. You _and_ Krista," I answered after a moment.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she said calculatedly. "The way we spent time together tonight is likely to confuse Krista, and me, for that matter. I want us to retain our friendship, but we need to remain strictly within those boundaries. Tonight felt more like… well it felt like _more_," she admitted quietly.

I just nodded, silently. I knew she was right, but I just couldn't seem to keep myself from thinking about her and wanting to be around her. Something about her drew me in like a moth to a flame, and there was no going back for me now. I didn't want to go back.

Steph continued when she realized I wasn't going to say anything to defend my actions. "I think you need to take some time to decide what it is that you really want, not what you think you want or want to want. And you need to give me some space until you figure that out. This yo-yo-ing with my emotions is too confusing," Steph concluded, draining her glass of wine.

I nodded in assent, she was right, I did need to figure my shit out before trying to talk to her about what our future would hold or if there even was an 'our future'. I took one last sip of wine and headed for her apartment door. I had a lot to think about.


	25. Chapter 25

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to all of you who've been reading along and to those of you who've reviewed. I appreciate all of your feedback!

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SP POV

"So white girl, did you and Batman do anything naughty after you left the benefit?" Lula asked with a saucy wink while we munched on our breakfasts at Star Diner.

"Nope, he just came with me to pick up Krista from Mary Lou's and helped me carry her up from the car," I answered nonchalantly.

"What? After all that jealousy and posturing he didn't put any moves on you?" Lula asked incredulously, giving me a once over to see if she could spot the telltale afterglow of a Ranger induced orgasm.

"Wait. Ranger jealous? Was it hot? I bet it was hot," Connie commented around a bite of waffles.

"What is that fine man thinking? Wasting a perfectly romantic evening, He should learn a thing or two from my Tank." Lula groused.

"It's fine. We're friends and he was just giving me a friendly ride home," I explained half-heartedly.

"Sure, just friends," Connie replied sarcastically. "So how was the benefit?"

"Oh my gosh it was amaaazing!" Lula gushed and proceeded to fill Connie in on everything that went on Saturday night.

An hour later I was settled in one of the comfy black office chairs in the conference room as the 9AM morning meeting was winding down. "One more thing before we leave," Lester announced with a mischievous glint in his eye, "for those of you who didn't attend the Homeless Shelter Benefit Saturday night, Beautiful here let us in on a little secret she's been keeping from us. Steph thinks that we, her Merry Men are sexy. Too sexy for our shirts, too sexy for our shirts, so sexy it hurts!" Lester quoted Right Said Fred causing the men to bust out in chuckles filling the conference room with reverberating laughter.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up guys!" I said, rising from my seat and trying to ignore the blush suffusing my face rapidly enough to radiate heat. "Yes, my date and I discussed how handsome you all are, it's not like you don't know that you're all hella studly, so let's move on please," I implored.

"Not a chance Bombshell," one of the Merry Men called out among cheers and a throaty growl that I was pretty sure came from Ranger.

"Well, I'm going to head out and get back to work!" I announced, ignoring their good-natured catcalls and heading down the hallway to my office. I toed off my tan, pointy-toed heels, swung my grey slacks clad legs up under me and sat down to go through my emails and return messages.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

"Report," I barked once the core team and Stephanie had joined me in my office for us to go over intel gleaned from the recording devices we'd sprinkled around the Capellos' Hiltonia Estate on Saturday night.

"Well, after several painful hours of listening in on other people's conversations," Lester began dramatically, "I think we have enough for the FBI and TPD to nail the Capellos."

"Great, the sooner we're done with this the better. I hate keeping something we're working on a secret from the rest of the guys." Tank's opinion was met with nods from Lester, Bobby and Steph.

"So what do we have on the Capellos?" I asked Lester.

"Well, from the various bugs we planted, we have detailed intel regarding the Capellos' cutting corners in their housing developments, bribes they've been paying to city employees, details of their money laundering endeavors and plans to expand with an underground casino and perhaps find a way to marry pimping and drugs into that venture."

"That confirms chatter we've been hearing on the street," Tank added.

"Good work, have the relevant recordings ready and information written up for a joint meeting with the FBI and TPD tomorrow morning at 10AM," I said, effectively ending the meeting, prompting my four colleagues to get up and leave.

"Babe, can I borrow you for a minute?" I asked, interrupting her retreat from my office. I'd finally admitted to myself last night that I really did want a relationship with Steph, replete with dancing dates, flowers, celebrating anniversaries, spending time with Krista and everything else that came with grownup relationships.

"Mkay, but only if you return me in the pristine condition I'm currently in," she sassed back, settling down in one of the wingback chairs across from my desk.

"I wanted to ask you something," I said, perching on the edge of my desk near Steph. "Do you want to get dinner with me sometime?"

"Is there's something we needed to discuss? Because I'd prefer us just setup a meeting rather than schedule a dinner because I'm trying to keep my evenings free to spend time with Krista," she replied.

I guess in my nervousness I'd worded the question ambiguously and she didn't get that I was asking her _out_ out and not to a working dinner. "No Babe, I mean, do you want to go out with me, as in a date," I clarified, ever articulate.

"Ranger, are you serious?"

"Deadly Babe."

"Ranger, as much as I've wanted to hear you say that I'm not sure you've thought this through. Dating me is more complicated now, with Krista in my life, and I'm not really sure you're ready for both of us. Dating me, us really, can't be an experiment for you, the stakes are too high. I don't want Krista to get attached to you just to have you decide we make your life too complicated and walk away."

"Babe, I _have_ thought this through, and I want to have you both in my life." When she didn't respond for a few moments, I continued presenting my argument. "If you'd rather, we could start small. How about the three of us spend some time together, maybe tomorrow?"

"Ranger," Steph said, unsure.

"Babe, give me a chance before you decide," I implored. "We can meet for lunch at the park tomorrow. I'll bring the picnic supplies, all you two have to do is show up."

"Tomorrow won't work, Krista has ballet and I have self-defense training," Steph sighed.

"Wednesday then, we can meet at the park across from your apartment. I'll even get Ella to rustle up something chocolate-y for dessert!"

"Ummm…" Steph said.

From her expressive features I could see her waffling between saying yes and no so I decided to bring out the big guns. "Please Babe."

"O-Okay, Ranger. Krista and I'll meet you at the park across from our apartment Wednesday after I pick her up from school."

I couldn't help the face splitting grin that graced my features and was mirrored by Steph.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

I walked back to my office in a haze, replaying Ranger's words over and over in my head. Ranger "confirmed bachelor" Manoso wanted to date _me_! How did that happen? And, more importantly, was it too good to be true?

I plopped down behind my desk and pulled up the plans for the RangeMan outing. It was five days away and I still had a ton of details to get hammered out from confirming our beach house rental to chartering busses for transportation to running the catering menu by Ella to get her stamp of approval.

After a couple more hours of working, I picked up Krista and we headed home for a quick lunch of Ella's amazing grilled veggie sandwiches before Krista and I moved on to homework and ordering office supplies and ammo, respectively.

"Psst, Krista," I whispered conspiratorially after a few hours, "how's your 'C' worksheet going?" I asked, hopeful that she too was done with her work.

"I just finished Mommy. Why?"

"I was thinking we could have a quick snack of apples and peanut butter and maybe do something fun."

"Mkay, that sounds good," Krista said, jumping up and following me into the kitchen where I proceeded to cut an apple and pull out some peanut butter. "What fun thing are we gonna do?" she asked once I'd lifted her onto one of the kitchen stools.

"Hmm, well we could have a dance party, play a game, go play outside, or ooh we could go ice-skating!" I suggested enthusiastically as we munched on some apple slices.

"What's ice-skating?" Krista asked with a furrowed brow.

"It's like rollerblading but on ice. It's really, really fun, and we could see if your friends can come too."

"Okay!"

After donning several layers of clothes, Krista and I met up with Roshni, Swati, Ethan and Amelia at the Kick Ice Arena.

"So Stephanie, what brings you by today?" John, the owner asked. John had the misfortune of reacting aggressively when he found his wife cheating on him with his Zamboni operator. He _accidently_ went FTA because he was too busy working to make it to court and I was tasked with bringing him in. Since I had Connie meet us at the police station to immediate re-bond him, we'd struck a sort of loose friendship.

"Just here to enjoy the ice skating rink John, besides, I don't really do skip tracing anymore."

"Okay," John said, pulling out our rental skates and placing them on the cream laminate counter, "this visit's on me Steph, have fun!"

"Thanks John!" I said as our party shuffled over to one of the slightly worn indoor picnic benches to lace up our skates.

"Okay guys, you ready to skate?" I asked excitedly, double knotting Krista's skate laces.

"Yes!" I heard all three girls yell. The six of us spent the next couple of hours skating around and drinking hot chocolate before heading to Fraise, a French restaurant for dinner where Swati's dad met us. It was a perfect day, for a Monday anyways, and I had some great new pictures to add to our living room wall. The only thing missing was Ranger.


	26. Chapter 26

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to all of you who've been reading along and to those of you who've reviewed! Sorry that this is another short one.

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SP POV

"Per the listening devices we were able to plant, we have incriminating intel regarding the Capellos' substandard housing developments, bribes to city employees, money laundering, an underground casino, pimping and drugs. All of this is included in your packets and the recordings we've provided you with," Ranger informed Morelli, Agent Berring and Agent Denison.

"And this intel is solid and will result in convictions?" Agent Berring questioned.

"Yes, it is," Ranger answered in a clipped tone.

"Perfect, we'll plan our takedown for tonight then," Agent Denison said, giving Morelli a look. "The sooner we shut them down the better. So, out of professional curiosity, who planted the bugs that got us the damning information?"

"Beautiful did, she planted a bug on the big bad boss Giorgio himself while dancing during the party," Lester said, beaming with pride since he was the one who taught me basic pickpocketing when I first started fulltime at RangeMan.

"You danced with Giorgio? Cupcake, you have the worst good luck," Joe groaned.

"The dancing wasn't intentional, but I figured I'd make the most of it and use the pickpocketing skills Lester imparted to me," I huffed.

"Impressive, glad you're on our side," Denison remarked, shooting me a quick smile.

"Thanks. So the takedown's planned for tonight?" I asked.

"Yes, we have teams ready so we just have to prep them. Hopefully we'll have the Capellos' and their goons all rounded up by midnight."

"Sounds good, I'm glad this is almost over," Lester remarked.

"And you'll call to let us know when you've made the arrests?" Ranger asked in a tone that brooked no response other than yes.

"Yes, we'll let you know how it goes," Agent Berring replied with a curt nod.

"Okay, let us know if you need anything and I look forward to hearing from you later on tonight," Ranger replied, standing and signifying the end of the meeting.

"So Steph, you never called," Agent Denison said, scooting down to sit on the edge of the conference room table facing me.

"I've been busy," I replied lamely.

"Well, do you think you'll be busy this weekend?" he asked.

Unfortunately his question caught Ranger's attention and he decided to stick around pretending to peruse some paperwork to hear my answer.

"I'm flattered, Agent Denison, bu-"

"Jack, call me Jack," Denison, sorry Jack, interrupted.

"I'm flattered, Jack, but I've got a lot on my plate and I'm not sure it's a good idea," I replied, hopeful that Jack wasn't the persistent type.

"And that's exactly why you need a night out on the town, an evening to have some fun and let loose," Jack insisted.

"I really don't thi-" I began only to have Ranger come to my rescue.

"Agent Denison, I think you should go, and Babe, don't forget our meeting with the law firm Bergman, Richards and Panzer in an hour," Ranger said in an eerily calm voice with his gaze focused intently on Jack. Jack nodded stiffly at Ranger, shot me one last smile that deepened the dimple in his chin and followed Agent Berring out of the conference room and down the hallway towards the elevator.

"Thanks Ranger," I said, disrupting the deafening silence blanketing the conference room. I waited for him to nod in acknowledgement before escaping to my office where the atmosphere thankfully wasn't rife with tension.

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RM POV

"Really Ranger, you wanna do this? Again?" Steph asked with a look of disbelief on her face when she entered the gym dressed head to toe in black spandex for her self-defense training to find me waiting for her on the mats.

"I'm sorry about last weeks _training_ sessions Babe, and I thought we could have a redo," I said, finishing stretching out my hamstrings.

"Okay," she said cautiously as she started stretching on the mat, flaunting her flexibility.

Lock it down soldier, I thought to myself. I definitely didn't want a repeat of last week's 'training' sessions, especially since I wanted Steph to be open to dating me. "So, I talked to the guys you've been training with, and I thought we could start with reviewing the stuff the guys have taught you. Practice makes perfect."

"Sounds good," Steph replied, holding out her hand for me to help her up.

We started with me putting her into various holds and her managing to successfully escape them. After we'd gone over all the things the guys had taught her I decided to use the last twenty minutes for a little sparring.

"So, you ready for me?" I taunted as we circled each other.

"No need to be cocky Ranger, I've already proven that I can take you down!" Steph replied, with a blinding smile.

"Yeah, well let's see you do it again, Babe!" I challenged.

I lunged towards her and was pleasantly surprised with the speed at which she dodged me. My men had taught her well. We circled each other for a few more moments before I rushed her, lifting her up with my shoulder against her waist and dodging her fists. Before she could kick me, I'd dropped her unceremoniously onto the padded floor and she sprung back up. We danced around each other for a few more moments before Steph decided to make a move. She leveled a roundhouse kick to my face that I managed to block by grabbing her ankle and I used her momentum to swing her down to the mats and trap her there with my body.

I leapt up quickly when I felt my traitorous body react to Steph's close proximity. "Goddamn siren," I muttered under my breath.

"Excuse me?" I heard Steph exclaim indignantly, hands akimbo. "I'm what? _Luring_ you to your death?"

"I didn't mean it like that Babe. It's a compliment," I covered.

"Well shiver me timbers, Batman," she replied with a wink.

We traded blows for another few more minutes until it was time for Steph to pick up Krista from ballet.

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SP POV

"And then what happened Mommy?" Krista asked as I was finishing up the tale of Lady Stephanie and the search for the new job which chronicled the week I decided to quit Vinnie's and ended up getting fired from the button factory, dry cleaners _and_ Cluck-in-a-Bucket.

"Well then Lady Stephanie lived happily ever after of course!" I exclaimed, tickling Krista a little before giving Krista a kiss on the forehead and tucking her snuggly into bed. "Goodnight munchkin."

"Goodnight Mommy," Krista replied sleepily, her eyes fluttering shut.

I'd just closed the door to her bedroom when my phone rang, displaying 'Becks' on the screen. "Hey Becks! How's it going?"

"Good, Steph. You have me and Mare on the line," Becks replied.

"Hey Mare, what's going on?" I asked cautiously.

"Well, Becks and I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay, what exactly?" I queried.

"Well… we, ugh, we wanted to talk to you about Ranger." Mare finally managed to eke out.

"Or more specifically you and Ranger," Becks clarified.

"What about Ranger and me?"

"Well, we wanted to ask about you two as a couple. I've seen you two interact a few times, and it seems like you really get each other. And I guess I, sorry, we just don't want you two to miss out on being with each other." Mare explained.

"We totally understand that having Krista now really ups the ante on any relationship you consider, but Ranger's a good man, and from what you've mentioned about Ranger patiently convincing Krista to talk to you about her calling you Mommy and the cooking lesson this past Sunday, he's really making an effort to spend time with you _and_ Krista."

"So, you want me to give Ranger a chance? The same guy who until recently has been feeding me his tired line of how his life doesn't lend itself to relationships for the past two years?"

"Wait, what do you mean until recently?" Becks demanded. Trust her to catch my verbal slipup.

"Yeah, what's going on with you two?" Mare chimed in.

"Well… okay, it's like this. Ranger said that what he wants relationship-wise has changed, and what he wants is me. Well me and Krista." I reluctantly shared. I was confused enough already about Ranger and I wasn't sure sharing details with my friends, who were already staunch Ranger supporters, would help.

"Oh my gosh, that's sooo exciting! You two are totally gonna get married and make babies and live happily ever after!" Mare gushed.

"Whoa, calm down Mare. I haven't even said I'd go out with him yet!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah Mare, don't scare her off. And Steph, what do you mean you didn't say yes to him?" Becks added.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to go out with him, I know he says he's serious but at the same time my life is infinitely more complicated than it was back when he didn't want a relationship with me," I said, defending my inaction.

"So, you're gonna say no to Batman? Just like that?" Becks asked incredulously.

"Not exactly. Ranger talked me into letting him spend time with Krista and me on Wednesday and I was going to give him an answer after that," I explained.

"Okay, well take into consideration that he doesn't seem like the type to say something he doesn't mean, especially when it comes to relationships and his personal life. From what I know of him, he wouldn't have asked you out unless he was completely sure that he truly wanted a life with you," Mare said.

"Yeah, he definitely does _not_ seem like the casual dating type. Just give him a chance, please?" Becks implored.

"Okay guys, I will, I promise. So is that all you guys called about?"

"Mostly, yeah. But we also really _really_ wanted to hear about Saturday night's benefit!" Becks answered gleefully.

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Jack Denison POV

"All teams, check in," my partner Berring demanded into his mic.

"Team 1 ready,", "Team 2 ready,", "Team 3 ready,", "Team 4 ready", I heard over my earpiece. I guess we were just about ready for the fun part, I thought as I felt the familiar buzz of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

"Breach doors on my count. Three, two, one, _go_!" Berring said, as he followed the agents who kicked down the Capellos' warehouse's front door.

Once we got inside I could make out Giorgio and Franco Capello as well as most of their lieutenants and some muscle. Our precisely timed siege went smoothly, well as smoothly as taking down close to twenty heavily armed, angry mobsters and mobster wannabes could go. Once I'd breached the door, I noticed Giorgio Capello pull out his phone and make a call while wildly wielding a firearm. I approached him stealthily, using the commotion as cover. I'd managed to slip a few steps behind him when I overheard his conversation.

"We're being arrested, go to ground. I'll have the lawyer contact you via your emergency email," I heard him yell into his phone. Shit, I thought, he managed to warn someone. I nudged him between his shoulder blades with my gun, "Hands up and on your knees Giorgio," I commanded gruffly.

He complied and held both of his hands up while lowering himself onto the concrete ground. I relieved him of his weapon and phone before cuffing him and dragging him to his feet by his wrists. I walked him outside to our idling vehicles and loaded him into the backseat of one not bothering to make sure he didn't conk his head.

"Denison, have you seen Franco, Giorgio's son?" Berring asked me as I walked back towards the warehouse to see if I could help bring any more of the perps out.

"No, I haven't seen him. I just put bracelets on Giorgio but not before he warned someone on his phone. Do you think it was Franco?" I asked, a seed of dread forming in the pit of my stomach. According to Manoso's intel Franco should've been here along with the rest of the Capellos and their organization's higher ups.

"There must have been a last minute change not made within proximity to one of the bugs!" Berring exclaimed.

"Fuck," I breathed.

"At least we did a simultaneous raid on all of their properties including those with cash reserves. Franco'll have a hard time running without any funds," Berring added. At least there was a silver lining, although with work related issues I was rarely a glass half full kind of guy.

"You wanna call Manoso to let him know or should I?" I asked quietly, careful to not be overheard by anyone.

"You do it, I'm gonna do a quick bad-guy head count." Damn, I thought, Manoso already hates me for hitting on his _Babe_. Jackass thinks he can just call dibs on a woman and that'll shut down the competition. Well until he's actually dating _his_ Babe, she was free game, and I was definitely in the mood to play.

I pulled out my phone and dialed RangeMan while walking off to the side away from prying ears, "RangeMan, this is Zip, how can I help you?"

"Hey, this is FBI Agent Denison, I need to speak with Manoso," I replied.

"Yeah, I have here that he's expecting a call from either you or an Agent Berring, If you can hold I'll transfer you" Zip stated rather than asked.

"Sure," I said as the phone started ringing.

"Report," I heard Manoso bark into the phone.

"Manoso, this is Denison. The takedown went smoothly and we got everyone except Franco. Capello's son wasn't here but we've raided all of their properties so he won't be able to get very far."

"We'll go back through the recordings to see if we can find anything helpful. And I expect a call if you get any intel on Franco." Manoso demanded. "He's free and may figure out RangeMan had a hand in his family's demise and come at us for retribution."

"Okay, we'll keep you informed," I replied only to hear dead air. I guess he hung up. Jackass.

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Franco Capello's POV

"Fuck!" I growled into the smoke filled, stale strip club air after receiving a disturbing call from my very distraught father. Their fucking meeting had been fucking raided by the fucking FBI and TPD. At the time, I had been pissed that my father had changed the plans and told me he didn't want me to attend the meeting to plan our new casino venture. He was happy having my cousin Mario as his second in command. Fucking Mario, ever the golden boy. Ha, I thought, now the golden boy and my father were in the clink and I, the _disappointment_ was free.

Free for now, at least. I desperately needed to come up with an escape plan, I thought as I downed the rest of my whiskey, tossed a few bills to pay my tab and left The Twin Peaks. I figured I had a few hours to gather some funds, acquire a new vehicle and abscond before the FBI and TPD would be out in full force looking for me. I slipped into my sleek, slate toned Jaguar and headed to one of our cash houses. I was looking forward to being someplace tropical by the end of the week and drinking something with an umbrella.


	27. Chapter 27

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to all of you who've been reading along and to those of you who've taken the time to review. Sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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SP POV

"Come on munchkin, we're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming Mommy, I just have to give Rex his breakfast first," Krista exclaimed tossing a piece of pop-tart she'd saved from her breakfast into Rex's cage where a carrot stick already rested.

I ushered Krista out the door and barely managed to get her to school on time. "Oh Krista, have a good day! I'll see you after school for our picnic with Mr. Ranger!" Crap, now I was going to be labeled on of _those_ single parents. You know the ones, who can't managed to get anything done on time, forget to bring homemade goods for the occasional bake sale and never volunteer to help out the PTA.

Krista waved at me and scurried towards the large oak doors of The Milano Academy and I pointed my shiny BMW towards RangeMan. I was about to pull into the secured underground garage when I felt the hairs on my arms stand up and a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked around frantically, trying to figure out what the cause of my hinky feeling was. Unfortunately nothing suspicious stood out. It was probably just the pop-tart I had for breakfast. I'd been eating healthier since starting at RangeMan fulltime and I guess the preservatives, chemicals and Red No. 57 in the pop-tart just weren't sitting well with me. Of course eating healthy required waking up on time to prepare food and today there was definitely no time for that.

I shrugged off my hinky feeling and told my spidey sense to calm down. Besides, no one was stupid enough to stake our RangeMan. I pulled into my parking spot near the elevator. I'd secured the prime parking real-estate after the guys got tired of hearing me complain about how much the stilettoes I staunchly refused to give-up wearing were hurting me. The guys just didn't understand the whole pain for fashion thing. Of course I wouldn't expect them to understand, their version of business casual was comprised solely of black cargo pants, matching painted on t-shirts and enough weaponry to invade a small nation or stage the impromptu coup d'etat. Men.

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RM POV

"So, how did the takedown last night go?" Tank asked after the core team and Steph had gathered in my office.

"Agent Denison called last night to let me know that they captured all of the Capello family's lieutenants, Giorgio and Mario Capello. Franco wasn't at any of the locations they raided and is now assumed to be in the area trying to secure funding to disappear. Anything new on the bugs?" I directed at Lester.

"Nothing on the bugs explains why Franco wasn't at the meeting, as far as our intel goes, he was expected to be there. And since the raids, the bugs aren't picking up anything except for the crime scene techs' chatter," Lester answered.

"So we have nothing on Franco?" Bobby asked.

"Nope," Lester answered.

"Just the assumption that he's sticking around long enough to fund running away?" Steph asked.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," I confirmed.

"Well, our guys have been whispering about RangeMan having a hand in the Capellos' takedown so it's possible Franco may figure it out as well," Tank added.

"Alright, I'll send out a company-wide email for the guys to keep an eye out for Franco. He may have figured out that RangeMan was involved in last night's arrests and I want the guys to be prepared," I added, receiving nods from everyone in my office before they filed out.

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Franco Capello's POV

Fucking RangeMan, I thought as I was stowed away in a crappy Honda accord I'd had to buy to stay under the radar. My Jaguar was too recognizable and the cash I'd gotten for it had helped me pay for the temporary ride and other necessities while I figured out a way to get my hands on the cash I'd need to escape and retire on a beach somewhere.

I was currently camped in a vacant lot a block down from the RangeMan building, waiting for my golden opportunity. It was too coincidental that my family's enterprise had been taken down right after we'd used their security firm. They had to have been involved somehow, I'm not sure how exactly and I didn't really care, so long as I could use them to fund my future.

I was going to wait out here until Stephanie Plum, the hottie head of client services left to pick up her brat. Then I was going to use her to steal the money I needed to disappear. As far as plans went, it was a pretty solid one. And my father always complained that I didn't have what it took to think big picture plan. Always comparing me to Mario, the ass.

I hunkered down in my seat and munched on some Doritos, hoping Stephanie Plum was the type to take an early lunch and wouldn't make me wait too much longer. Pissing me off additionally would _not_ be in her best interest, even if it wasn't intentional.

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SP POV

"Hey Steph!" Ethan answered his phone enthusiastically, "what's going on?"

"Nothing much, I just wanted to check in and see how everything went with the RangeMan security system installs," I replied as I headed down to the garage after my mandatory hour of gun range time. I was on my way to pick up Krista and head to the park across from our apartment for our picnic with Ranger which I was equal parts nervous and excited for.

"Everything went really smoothly, the guys you sent out were really efficient and answered all my questions, not to mention the eye candy factor!"

"Well, I'm glad everything went well and I totally agree on the eye candy part! So do you have any questions or concerns?" I asked.

"Nope, everything's been running really smoothly so far," Ethan answered.

"Well, feel free to call if you have any questions. I'm about to head out to pick up Krista so I'll talk to you later!"

"Okay, you ladies have a fun afternoon. Bye."

"Bye," I said before I hung up and levered myself into my RangeMan BMW. I turned out of the garage and headed towards The Milano Academy. I'd just stopped at a red light at the end of the block while singing to Nicki Minaj on the radio when my passenger side door was ripped open. "What the hell!ehellh" I'd barely managed to shout when I turned to find a very disheveled Franco Capello climbing into my passenger seat with a gun pointed at me. I guess this explained my spidey sense being triggered earlier this morning.

"Shut up bitch! Make a left turn and pull into the parking lot on the right," Franco demanded gruffly.

"Why? What are you doing?" I asked while trying to subtly locate my gun, phone or panic button from the confines of my bottomless purse. Unfortunately I wasn't as stealthy as I had hoped and Franco snatched my purse from me after backhanding me in the face, splitting my lip.

"Do exactly as I say and I won't shoot you. Now drive!" Franco shouted, jabbing my in the ribs with his gun and placing his other hand on my knee, his rough fingers ghosting over my skin. I totally got why the Merry Men were all about cargo pants, no one has to worry about giving some psycho easy access while wearing cargo pants, I thought as I tugged at the hem of my pencil skirt down and shifted my leg farther away from Franco. And as an added benefit, cargo pants have all of those helpful pockets to stash things like mace or a taser.

I figured it was best to go along with Franco's demands for now and work out a way to alert RangeMan and get the upper hand later. Franco wasn't quite a criminal mastermind and he was bound to slip up eventually. I pulled into the abandoned parking lot and turned off the engine. "What now?" I asked.

"Now, get out," Franco said, still holding his gun on me. He got out of the car as slowly as I did, leaving my purse behind and with it my panic button and phone. Dammit, I thought, I wished I hadn't scoffed when I heard of Hector's plans to design a line of panic button accessories. What I wouldn't give for a panic button necklace right about now. At least RangeMan would be notified when I didn't show up to pick up Krista, so they'd know something was wrong and come looking for me.

Franco came around to my side of the car and jabbed the gun into my back, pushing me forwards. "Move, we're going to take a ride," he urged me towards a weathered, white Honda accord. "Stop, hold your arms out" Franco ordered when I'd stumbled to his car. He then proceeded to perform the grope-iest pat-down ever to check for weapons. Despite it being a cringe worthy experience, Franco's focus on getting handsy led to him missing the knife strapped to my thigh.

"You really don't want to do this," I said as Franco shoved me into the driver's seat, "people will know that I'm missing and come looking for me."

"Well then we'd better be quick," he answered, siding into the seat behind me. "I know that you and RangeMan were involved in the raid on my family's business."

"No, we didn't-"

"Shut up bitch! I know you were involved, don't try to deny it. That's why you're going to help me make my escape," he shouted.

"Why did you come after me? You could've just skipped town. Now the police will be out in full force looking for you," I tried to reason with him while buckling myself in.

"Well, the police raided all of our properties and froze our accounts, so I need some travelling moeny, and you're gonna help me get it."

"How? You're money is in the police evidence lockup, I can't very well traipse in there and abscond with bags of cash!"

"Look, I don't care where the money comes from, that's for you to figure out."

"Why me? I'm not exactly thief material and my bank balance wouldn't really get you anywhere," I asserted, unsure as to what Franco's would do if I couldn't help him get cash to plan his escape.

"I picked you because you contributed to my current predicament and from the Bombshell Bounty Hunter stories I've heard, you have the necessary luck and resourcefulness to pull this off," Franco explained, handing me the car keys. "Now I don't care if you have to rob a bank, RangeMan client or the fucking police evidence lockup. You'd better find a way to get me several hundred thousand dollars and you'd better do it soon, or I'll be very, very angry."

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RM POV

I had arrived at the park across from Steph's new apartment before Steph and Krista and decided to set up our picnic, replete with a white and red checkered blanket for us to sit on. I proceeded to lay out the sandwiches, veggies and dip, sliced watermelon, chips and deceptively healthy cookies that Ella had packed for us.

For someone who'd gone up against ruthless cartels and terrorist cells, I was embarrassingly nervous for this picnic. A lot was riding on it so I did what I do for any mission, preparation and planning. In this case it involved a phone call to Julie last night to ask her for advice on interacting with a 5 year old. After an epic laughing fit, Julie managed to give me quite a few pointers on things to do and not to do, namely _do _participate and interact enthusiastically and _do not_ be stoic or employ my blank face.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, I decided to give Steph a call and see what was holding them up. I was just about to dial when I received a call from the RangeMan control room. "Report," I barked, I had specifically informed the control room that I would be offline for lunch so whatever they were calling about had better be of the utmost importance.

"Ranger sir, it's Vince, we just received a call from The Milano Academy, apparently Steph never made it to pick up Krista even though she left to get her close to thirty minutes ago."

"What?! Where are her phone and car trackers?" I demanded, quickly packing the picnic supplies back into the quaint wicker basket Ella had purchased.

"Her phone and car are in an abandoned parking lot at the end of the block near RangeMan, Ram and Woody are on their way to check it out," Vince answered succinctly.

"Okay, I'll expect a full report when I get to the office and have them get any video from surrounding businesses that could let us know where she went and if she was with someone. Go through our video feeds as well."

"Yes sir."

"Oh and we need someone to pick up Krista," I added.

"When I spoke to The Milano Academy they mentioned that the core team members, Ella and Mary Lou comprise the list of individuals Bombshell approved to pick up Krista. Who should I tell to go and pick her up?"

Wow, the fact that Steph had me included on a list of people she trusted to pick up Krista filled me with a sense pride and increased my resolve to figure out what had happened. "I'll pick her up, I'm the closest. But let Ella know she's on babysitting duty for the time being and have her call Mary Lou to let her know what's going on. If we can't locate Steph by tonight it would probably be best if Krista stayed with her tonight," I said, hurrying to my Cayenne and heading to The Milano Academy. I really wish I'd thought to cover this type of situation when asking Julie for help last night.

A few minutes later I was hoisting Krista into the back seat and buckling her in. "Mr. Ranger, where's my car-seat? Even though I'm a big girl Mommy says I still have to use a car-seat."

"I know Krista, and normally your Mom is correct, but right now we have to make an exception," I answered, levering myself into the drivers seat.

"What's an exception?"

"It's when we do something that doesn't follow the rules because we need to. Like right now I need to get you to RangeMan but I don't have a car-seat so you're sitting without the car-seat and I'm driving extra carefully."

"Okay," Krista replied after mulling over my explanation. "Where's Mommy? I thought she was gonna pick me up so we could go on our picnic."

"Well Mommy got busy with work, so we're going to go on our picnic another day. How does that sound?"

"Okay I guess. Do I get to help Ella make snacks again?"

"If you want to. I know all of your uncles really like the treats you two make," I answered while pulling into my parking spot in the RangeMan garage. I helped Krista down from her seat and grabbed her backpack and our picnic basket before heading into the elevator and hitting the button for the sixth floor.

"Mr. Ranger, where's Mommy. Is she in her office?" Krista asked, looking up at me with her big, hazel eyes that made me question my resolve at keeping her protected from the truth.

I knelt down in front of her so that we were eye to eye. "Krista, Steph had to take care of some work out of the office, so she's not here right now. It was an emergency, but the second she gets back she'll come find you."

"Okay," Krista responded as the elevator doors opened to reveal Ella pacing and wringing her hands, anxiously awaiting for our arrival.

"Oh Krista!" Ella exclaimed, scooping Krista up into a big hug. "Let me fix you something for lunch. What do you feel like?" she asked, ushering Krista into her apartment. I followed and deposited Krista's backpack and the picnic basket on Ella's kitchen counter. With a quick nod to Ella I let myself out of her apartment and bounded down the stairs to the fifth floor.

"Report!" I snapped upon heading into the control room.

Tank paused the video feed he was currently analyzing to fill me in on the intel they'd gathered since my conversation with Vince. "We went through our video and that of surrounding businesses. We found that a little after leaving RangeMan, Little Girl was carjacked by none other than Franco Capello himself," Tank explained, directing my attention to one of the monitors that had an frozen image of a fuzzy Franco wielding a gun and getting into Steph's BMW.

"Shit," I whispered. How did this crap manage to happen to Steph. It was remarkable really. "Where did they go from there?" I asked.

"Well it looks like he had Beautiful drive to a nearby parking lot where they changed vehicles. We're not sure where they went from there, but we do know that her panic button, phone and gun were left behind in her purse," Lester answered.

"Okay, so she still has her knife then," I surmised earning a nod from Hector who was going through additional video feeds from surrounding businesses trying to find a trace of Steph and Franco. "Tank, will you call the TPD and FBI and let them know that Franco's taken Steph hostage," I requested, scrubbing a hand over my face.

"So why do we think Franco came after Bomber?" Bobby queried.

"Well, maybe he needs her help for part of his escape plan?" I replied.

"Or," Lester began hesitantly, "Franco figured out RangeMan was involved in last night's take down and raids and he wants payback" he said, voicing an unspoken concern.

The silence following Lester's speculation was disrupted by a very excited Hector, "Aja! Encontre su nuevo coche." We all turned to the monitor Hector was using to take in the beat-up white Honda accord heading west with Steph driving and Franco in the seat behind her. (Translation: Aha! I found their new car.)

"Great work Hec. Tank, make sure to let the TPD and FBI know about the car and Lester, let all of our guys know to keep an eye out for this car," I said, relieved that we finally had a viable, albeit thin lead.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

After switching cars, Franco had me drive to an abandoned warehouse to come up with a plan to help him get money quickly. I figured there was a good chance that regardless of whether or not I helped him, he'd kill me anyways, especially since he was adamant about blaming me for his family being arrested and ill-gotten gains being seized.

I couldn't believe that after all the changes I'd made in my life from the training to keeping a gun on me at all times that some spoiled, corrupt little shit was threatening to take everything away from me. Hell no. Not gonna happen, not if I had something to do about it. I, Stephanie Michelle Plum am a force to be reckoned with. So, I let my inner Wonder Woman out and decided to take back control. My inner Wonder Woman decided that instead of waiting on Ranger or the Merry Men to come to my rescue, I'd save myself, and so I came up with a plan.

RangeMan had a series of safe houses set up in each of the cities with RangeMan offices as well as some in more rural, secluded areas. Each safe house was equipped with a panic button hidden in the bathroom, a small cache of weapons and a floor safe with emergency funds. I wasn't sure if it would be enough money to satisfy Franco, but it would buy me time and maybe give me a chance to get the drop on him.

"Franco, RangeMan has a safe house that has a safe with cash," I said, hoping he would amenable to my plan.

"Well, for your sake, it better be enough money. Drive us there, and no speeding," Franco barked from the backseat, jabbing his gun into my right side.

Twenty minutes later I parked in front of an unassuming, single story house. The lawn was well manicured and there were peonies lining the walkway. I led Franco around to the back where there was a planter in which a spare key was hidden. I fished the key out of the soil and opened the back door only to activate the alarm.

"What the fuck! This better not be a trap!" Franco yelled, shoving me into the house and in front of the security panel.

Luckily I'd paid attention to the monthly email in which the security codes for the safe houses were provided. I quickly entered the appropriate code and silenced the alarm.

"Alright, where's this floor safe?" Franco asked gruffly.

"It's in one of the bedrooms, but first can I go to the restroom, I really, really have to go," I asked, shuffling on the balls of my feet to further my point.

"Ugh, women," Franco announced disgustedly, "sure. But I need to check out the bathroom first."

We made our way through the sparsely furnished house to the bathroom. After going through all of the cupboards and drawers and finding nothing threatening Franco left me alone in the bathroom. "You have five minutes," he announced as I closed and locked the door.

I ran the faucet while I tried to figure out the next phase of my plan. I quickly located the panic button in the medicine cabinet, turned it on and stuffed it into my bra. Unfortunately I couldn't escape through the reinforced window since it was designed specifically to keep threats out. Additionally, the safe house's cache of weapons was located in the basement and it seemed unlikely that I could get to it without Franco noticing. I figured my best bet would be to wait until Franco was distracted by the money and then use my knife to disarm him.

Franco banging on the bathroom door brought me out of my planning reverie. I turned off the faucet and opened the door only to have Franco roughly grab my arm and pull me out of the bathroom. "So, where's this safe?"

"It's in one of the bedrooms," I answered, heading into the closest one. The room had a hardwood floor which was partially covered up by a floral print rug. I checked under the rug to see if I could find a floor safe. After coming up empty I moved toward the closet to see if perhaps it was hidden in there.

"So, where's this floor safe?" Franco snarled.

"Well, since it isn't in here it must be in the other bedroom," I concluded snippily after checking the closet. Franco followed me into the bedroom across the hallway and watched as I resumed my search while leaning against the doorjamb. "Found it," I announced with relief as I lifted up the rug covering the floor safe set to the side of the queen sized, paisley covered bed.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!" Franco demanded. Clearly patience wasn't his strong suite.

I quickly entered the combination which was a combination of the number of the affiliated RangeMan office (03 since it was the third RangeMan location opened), the number of the safe house (02 since it was the second established Trenton office safe house) and the year (14 since it was 2014). Once I'd opened the safe, I stepped back, allowing Franco to step in front of me to greedily count how much money was in the safe.

While he was distracted and had his back to me I quickly removed the knife from my thigh holster, crept up to Franco and held the knife steadily against his throat. "Slowly place your gun on the ground," I ordered.

"You're gonna pay for this bitch!" Franco asserted as he dropped his gun on the floor beside him. I kicked the gun back behind me so he couldn't reach it.

"Now, we're just gonna wait for my friends to arrive, okay? As long as you stay calm and cooperate, I won't hurt you."

"Fuck you, bitch!" Franco barked, turning around and shoving me back.

Luckily I was able to stay upright and keep myself between Franco and his gun. Franco lunged me, swinging wildly and I was able to block his punches and use his momentum to throw him over my shoulder and onto the ground. While he began lifting himself off the ground with a groan, I picked up his gun and drove my heel into the small of his back effectively halting his progress.

"Like I said, as long as you stay calm and cooperate, I won't hurt you. The next time you try something, I'll shoot," I said, letting the sound of me cocking his gun reverberate in the silent house.

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RM POV

"Ranger, the panic button stored at the safe house on Academy Rd. just went off," Vince announced to the control room while pulling up the safe house video on one of the monitors. We could see Franco in the hallway waiting outside of the bathroom with his gun.

"Steph must be in the bathroom. Lester and Bobby, you're with me. Vince, have whichever team is closest to that location meet us there. Tank, you're in charge of things here. Alright, let's roll out!" I said as the three of us proceeded to rush downstairs to the garage.

Ten minute later Lester, Bobby and I had met up with Cal and Junior down the street from the safe house and were finishing strapping on our bulletproof vests and loading up with weapons.

"According to Tank, they're in the back bedroom that has the safe. Lester and I will go in the back door, you three go in the front. Okay?" I asked, receiving nods in response. We jogged silently to the safe house and got into position. "On three," I whispered into my communication unit. "One, two, three," I said before kicking down the back door.

I didn't bother disarming the alarm as Lester and I swept our way towards the bedrooms. The closer we got, the stronger the slight buzzing in my spine became, indicating that I was getting nearer to Steph. The five of us met up in the hallway outside of the bedrooms. I indicated for Cal and Junior to take the bedroom on the left and that Lester, Bobby and I would clear the one on the right. After a silent count of three, we moved into our respective bedrooms and the three of us stopped abruptly at the sight that was waiting for us.

Steph had somehow gotten ahold of Franco's gun and was standing above him, pointing it at him with her left heel digging into his back, pinning him to the floor. She looked over at us with a smile and a determined glint in her eye that illuminated her face and enhanced her beauty despite her split, swollen lip and disheveled appearance. "Took you guys long enough!"

"Proud of you Babe," I said, unable to stop of the grin from spreading across my face.


	28. Chapter 28

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with this story and to those of you who've reviewed! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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SP POV

"Ranger," I said, my voice filled with relief as I backed away from Franco and ran into Ranger's waiting arms, "is Krista okay?"

"Yeah Babe, I picked her up from school and left her with Ella. Let's head outside and wait for the TPD, FBI and paramedics," Ranger replied, ushering me out to the front of the house with his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. We left Lester, Bobby, Cal and Junior in the house to secure Franco and the floor safe.

"Ranger, not the paramedics, I'm fine!" I groused.

"SOPs Babe. You get kidnapped, the paramedics have to check you out," Ranger said with a slight chuckle.

We waited in the front yard, me leaning against Ranger with his arms around me for about ten minutes when a TPD cruiser, Agents Berring and Denison and the ambulance arrived.

"Franco's inside with some of my men," Ranger said to Agents Berring and Denison as he walked me over to the ambulance. "Take good care of her," Ranger ordered the paramedics, leveling them with a glare that brooked no alternative.

"Take it easy Ranger," I said, settling down on the edge of the ambulance and allowing the paramedics to do their thing.

"Hey Stephanie," Agent Denison greeted me, "how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, really, just tired."

"Well I'm glad you're okay. Sorry we didn't pick up Franco last night."

"We got him eventually, that's what counts. And aside from the swollen lip and missing a highly anticipated picnic, I'm doing fine," I said, shooting a quick smile to Ranger who was standing sentinel by my side with his arms crossed across his chest, further accentuating his impressive musculature.

"Stephanie, thank you for your help in taking down Franco. And sorry for how things turned out," Agent Berring said.

"I'm just glad that we got the Capellos behind bars where they belong," I said as the four of us watched Carl Costanza and Big Dog walk Franco to their TPD squad car and shove him unceremoniously into the backseat.

"Steph, we heard you took down Franco all by your lonesome!" Carl said, walking towards the ambulance with a look of pride and awe on his face.

"Yeah, looks like all that RangeMan training finally paid off! And you did it without rolling around in garbage or food!" Big Dog added with a smirk.

"I just channeled my inner Wonder Woman and decided to save myself," I said with a face splitting smile. Having the guys impressed with my skills was definitely a step up from when they used to bet on my next disaster.

"So Steph, when do you wanna give us your statement?" Carl asked.

"She'll come in tomorrow," Ranger answered.

"I'll stop by tomorrow around 11 AM," I added earning a nod from Carl and Big Dog before they left after giving me a quick hug each.

"We'll meet you there then, take care," Agent Berring said before he and Agent Denison headed back to their car.

An unmarked cop car screeched up to the curb just as the FBI agents were leaving. "Cupcake! Are you okay?" Joe yelled, jogging up to the ambulance.

"Joe, I'm fine," I assured him as he gave me a once over, relief clear on his face.

"What the hell happened?" Joe demanded, hands akimbo.

"Well, Franco figured out that RangeMan was involved with the take down and raids last night and he decided that in light of that, I should help him acquire cash to make his getaway," I explained as the paramedics finished checking me over and Lester, Bobby, Cal and Junior made their way over to us.

"So Franco just grabbed-" Joe began when he was interrupted by a shrill voice ripping through the air.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum! What have you gotten yourself into now?!" I looked up towards the source of the noise only to see my mother storming huffily up to me with Grandma Mazur in tow, her gray curls bouncing.

"Hello mother, I have nothing to say to you."

"Why me? Carla Mancini's daughter is never carjacked by a crime boss's son! How can you possibly think you're fit to be a parent when you just spent most of the day kidnapped by a criminal?!" Helen shrieked.

"This was a freak occurrence and has nothing to do with my parenting skills. Besides, at no point during the day was Krista in any danger!" I asserted hotly.

"Mrs. Plum, I suggest you leave," Ranger said in a deadly calm voice while Lester, Bobby, Cal and Junior formed a protective wall around me.

"This has nothing to do with you, thug. This is between me and my poor excuse for a daughter!"

"Helen!", "Mother!", Grandma Mazur and I yelled at the same time.

"Mother, Ranger is an honorable man and respected businessman, not to mention my employer," I asserted, outraged.

"Pfft," she huffed, "I've heard what people say about Ranger and his men. Tell her Joseph," Helen demanded, turning to Joe expectantly.

"Well Joe, you wanna set my mother straight?" I asked, leveling him with a glare that demanded he put aside any residual jealousy or male posturing and answer truthfully.

"Mrs. Plum, Ranger and his men provide citizens of Trenton with much needed security services and have even helped the TPD and FBI on several occasions," Joe admitted begrudgingly after running his hands through his tousled, too-long hair.

"Ha see, I told you Ranger and his hunky men were alright!" Grandma Mazur announced gleefully. "You're okay right, baby granddaughter?" she asked, giving me a quick hug.

"Yeah Grandma, thanks for asking."

"So, what happened? Did Ranger here rescue you like in a modern day fairy tale?" Grandma asked, eager to get the scoop.

"Actually, Mrs. Mazur, Beautiful here rescued herself!," Lester explained proudly.

"Well ain't that a pip! I knew you had it in you. I can't wait to tell the girls at the Clip n' Curl!"

After giving Grandma a few more details with which to regale her friends, I decided I'd had enough and asked Ranger to take me to see Krista.

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SP POV

"Hi munchkin!" I exclaimed, scooping Krista up into my arms and peppering kisses all over her face.

"Hi Mommy, and Mr. Ranger" she replied with a giggle, "look at what Aunt Ella and I maded!"

"What did you make?" I asked as I carried her into Ella's state-of-the-art kitchen on the sixth floor.

"Stephanie dear, it's so good to see you," Ella said, wiping her hands on her apron and giving me a quick hug.

"Thanks for looking after Krista, I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure. I'm just glad everything worked out alright," Ella replied graciously.

"So, what have you two been up to today?" Ranger asked.

"We had lunch and then we baked lemon bars for everyone and then I worked on my homework," Krista announced proudly.

"Wow, it sounds like you've been very busy!" I added.

"Mhmm," Krista answered.

"Well, are you ready to head home them?" I asked, eager to put this day behind me.

"But what about our picnic with Mr. Ranger? You promised!" Krista huffed with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Krista, munchkin, I'm sorry we missed our picnic, but it's too late now. How about we have a picnic with Mr. Ranger next week instead?" I said in an attempt to cajole Krista.

"Please Mommy! Come on Mr. Ranger? Can't we still have our picnic?" Krista pleaded, using her big, hazel eyes to her advantage.

"Babe, I think we can salvage our picnic plans. Just give me half an hour to get everything ready," Ranger said, unable to stand up to Krista's imploring gaze.

"Ranger, it's okay, really. We can just reschedule."

"It's no problem Babe, and I've been really looking forward to it."

"Okay then, Krista and I'll be in my office. Let me know when you're ready!" I said, leading Krista to the elevators. After a round of hugs with the Merry Men on duty and confirming several times that I was completely fine, Krista and I ambled into my office.

"Krista, how about you do a little coloring while I finish up some work stuff?" I asked, situating Krista on the window seat.

"Mkay!" Krista said, pulling out her unicorn themed coloring book and crayons from her purple, star-covered backpack.

I plopped down into my plush office chair and pulled my phone out of my purse that they guys had retrieved from my car and left on my desk. After shooting a quick text message to Lula, Connie and Becks to let them know I was fine I called Mary Lou to fill her in on my eventful afternoon. I had just finished giving her all the details when Ranger strolled into my office sporting his elusive casual look of worn jeans and a cream, long-sleeved Henley shirt.

"Mare, I have to go. It's time for my picnic with Ranger and Krista," I said, getting up from my desk to help Krista pack up her coloring paraphernalia.

"You guys are still doing that? Even after the day you've had?" Mare asked.

"Yes, Krista was very adamant about it," I replied.

"You're gonna have to learn to say no eventually, or that adorable girl is gonna walk all over you. I expect details tomorrow night! Have fun! And for the love of god, remember to lock you doors at all times!" Mare said cheekily.

"I will, bye Mare," I replied before hanging up. "So munchkin, you ready for our picnic?" I asked, holding out my hand for Krista to take.

"Mhmm! It's picnic time!" Krista said excitedly as we walked hand in hand towards Ranger who was smiling at us from the doorway.

"Where to Ranger?" I asked.

"Follow me ladies," he said, guiding us towards the elevator with his hand at the small of my back. Once we got in the elevator he surprised me by hitting the button for the seventh floor instead of the one for the garage.

"Um, Ranger?"

"Trust me Babe," he answered cryptically with a slight grin.

I managed to keep my curiosity at bay as we got off on the seventh floor. Ranger then walked over to the stairwell door and held it open for Krista and myself. I shot him a questioning look as I entered the stairwell.

"We're almost there, just head up the stairs," Ranger said, leading the way up the stairs to a door marked 'Roof Access'. He used his key fob to unlock the door and led us onto the RangeMan roof which had been completely transformed.

There were globe string lights around the edges of the roof providing an ethereal ambiance. A black metal portable fire pit was situated in one corner near a circular black wicker daybed with gray cushions and pillows, perfect for cuddling and watching the sunset. In the center of the roof, there was a red and white checkered picnic blanket covered in picnic fare including sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chips and cookies.

"Wow," I breathed, taking everything in.

"I wanted it to be special," Ranger said, with slight smile and a shrug.

"Mission accomplished, this is incredible," I gushed, reaching up to place a light kiss on Ranger's cheek.

"This is the bestest picnic every!" Krista exclaimed, running over to examine the picnic area with Ranger and I in tow.

After a delicious meal and a few games of eye-spy, the three of us retired to the daybed to watch the sunset and make s'mores over the fire pit for dessert.

"Thanks for agreeing to the picnic, I really enjoyed myself," Ranger said amid bites of the s'more Krista demanded he eat.

"Thanks for putting this together, it was really special and a great way to unwind after the day I've had," I replied.

"Mhmm, thank you Mr. Ranger. This was an awesome picnic!" Krista added.

"So, about that date?" Ranger asked tentatively.

"What date?" I retorted schooling my features to portray innocent confusion.

"Babe," Ranger groaned, which I took to mean please stop messing with me.

"Ohh, _that_ date. I would love to go out with you, Ranger," I said with a face-splitting smile.

"What's a date?" Krista asked innocently while licking chocolate off her fingers.

"It's where two adults hang out so they can get to know each other better," I answered.

"Mkay," Krista replied, thankfully too preoccupied with her gooey, melty dessert to continue her line of inquiry.

"So how about tomorrow night? Dinner and dancing?" Ranger asked.

"Well-" I began only to be interrupted by Krista.

"Tomorrow night we have grown-up girls' night with Aunt Mare, Aunt Connie and Aunt Lula. And since you're a boy Mr. Ranger, you can't come!"

"That's true, you are a boy," I added knowingly.

"Cute Babe," Ranger replied with a smirk, "Friday then?"

"Friday sounds perfect."

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SP POV

Thursday morning went by in a blur of meetings and paperwork and before I knew it, I was on my way to the TPD to give my statement. I parked in the visitor parking lot with yellow flowered weeds escaping through the cracked pavement. I ambled across the lot to the double doors of the TPD with inset frosted glass windows. Well, I better get this over with I thought as I opened the heavy doors and headed to the front desk currently manned by Robin Russell.

"Hey Robin."

"Hey Steph, it's been a while," she answered, looking up from some paperwork.

"Yeah, I don't have an excuse to make it down here as often since I started at RangeMan fulltime," I answered.

"And how's that going?" she asked, sliding the sign-in sheet towards me.

"Pretty well actually. It helps that no two days are exactly the same, it keeps things interesting," I replied, adding my name to the visitor's log.

"So, how do you do it? Working_ everyday_ with all those devastatingly handsome men?"

"Well, I've had to enact a strict no fraternization with co-workers policy," I explained with a sigh.

"Mhmm, and how is that working out with Ranger?" Robin asked with a knowing glint in her eye.

"Well, technically, he's the boss, so the aforementioned rule doesn't apply!" I said with a saucy wink.

"Hey cupcake, you ready to do this?" Joe asked, interrupting my banter with Robin.

"Yup," I replied, following him down a beige walled hallway.

"So the FBI guys are already here, so hopefully you can be in and out quickly," Joe explained.

"Sounds good, I need to pick up Krista at noon."

"So how's that going? The whole parenting thing?" Joe asked trepidatiously.

"Aside from yesterday, it's actually been going really well. She uh… she's actually calling me Mom now," I explained.

"Wow, I guess it's official then. You're a Mom. Never really thought I'd see the day."

"Yeah, it's all still a bit surreal. Every now and then it hits me, I'm responsible for this precious, precocious five year old."

"Well," Joe began, stopping outside of one of the meeting rooms, "I'm happy that you're happy. You deserve it."

"Thanks. And I am," I said with a smile and gave Joe a quick hug. "And I hear things with the nurse are going well," I added, prodding him in the ribs lightly with my elbow.

"Yeah, they are," he said with a smile. "So, you ready to get this over with?" Joe asked, holding the meeting room door open.

"Mhmm," I said with a nod, entering the room to find Agents Berring and Denison seated on one side of the table. I took a seat in one of the rickety metal chairs across from them and Joe sat in the remaining chair next to me.

"Good morning Stephanie, I promise we'll keep this as short as possible," Agent Berring assured me.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Okay Steph," Joe said, turning on the voice recorder and sliding it across the wood laminate table to rest in front of me, "just talk us through everything that happened yesterday."

I gave him a quick, tight nod and began my tale.

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Lester POV

I hate paperwork I thought as I scrubbed my hands mussing my perfectly constructed faux-hawk. I decided to take a break from reading through a request for assistance from the DEA to help investigate the recent influx of high-powered weaponry in Trenton and Newark. I shuffled out from behind my sleek black and tinted-glass desk and headed towards the break room. I was just about to enter when I overheard some of the guys discussing the recent raids on the Capellos and decided to do a little eavesdropping.

"I'm just saying, it's too much of a coincidence that right after hiring RangeMan for security, their entire criminal enterprise gets decimated," Cal insisted.

"Yeah, even that halfwit Franco figured it out, which is why he went after Bombshell in the first place," Junior agreed.

"Well that and he totally underestimated her. I just hope people now realize that Bombshell is a fully qualified RangeMan and shouldn't be trifled with," Hal added.

"The term is RangeWoman, it's like you learned nothing from that PR webinar we were all required to complete," Zip scoffed.

"I still don't know about RangeMan being involved with the Capellos' takedown. How come we didn't hear anything about it? And, I mean, it's not really good for business to actively collude with the authorities against a client," Hal speculated.

"Well Ranger probably only involved the core team which is probably why they had that meeting with the feds, and the Capellos weren't _really_ clients," Junior reasoned, "RangeMan was just helping with the benefit."

"Yeah and Ranger would never associate RangeMan with the Capellos, even if it was just to secure a benefit unless there was a damn good reason," Cal added.

"And what better reason than to take down a crime syndicate that's been plaguing the city for years," Junior enthused just as I decided to make my presence known.

The second I entered the break room all speculation stopped and the men's expressions ranged from the ever-effective blank face to sheepish. "Hey guys, don't mind me," I said with a smirk as I ambled towards the fridge to grab a bottle of water and some yogurt. "So, what were you guys talking about?" I asked, leaning against the counter next to the fridge as I opened up my strawberry infused snack.

"Nothing much Santos, just swapping takedown stories," Cal replied quickly.

"Well, I've got to get back to my monitor shift," Hal said nervously, a slight flush gracing his features as he hurried awkwardly from the break room.

"Same, see you guys later," Zip added, following Hal back to the control room.

"Yeah, we're gonna head back out on patrol. See you later Santos," Cal said, leaving the break room with Junior in tow after tossing the remnants of their snacks in the trash.

I just shot them a knowing smile and smugly ate the rest of my yogurt.

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Becks POV

I tried calling Steph again as I hailed a cab to take me to the courthouse. I'd been trying to call her without success since Mare filled me in on her abduction yesterday afternoon. Thankfully this time she decided to pick up.

"Hey Becks," Steph's cheery voice rang through the speaker.

"Don't you 'hey Becks' me! I've been trying to get a hold of you for like 24-hours! You were abducted and you can't spare five minutes to let me know that everything's okay?" I demanded, sliding into a cab and directing the driver towards the courthouse.

"Hey, I sent you a text message!"

"Ya, 'abducted but fine, talk to you later' is not a sufficient message, especially when you take _forever_ to get to the talk to you later part!"

"Alright, you're right. Sorry for being M.I.A., but honestly, everything's fine. As far as criminals go, Franco wasn't really a mastermind and I was able to alert RangeMan and get the drop on Franco. All the cavalry had to do once they arrived was cuff the guy," she assured me.

"Okay, well I'm glad you're okay, you and Krista. So, what's been going on in your world, aside from the whole abduction thing?" I asked.

"Oh you know, I got some work done this morning then stopped by the TPD to give my statement and after a quick lunch Krista had ballet and I had self-defense training where Ranger spent a third of the allotted time lecturing me about the importance of locking my car doors."

"Well good, I'm glad he did it so that I don't have to. But seriously Steph, you work for a _security _firm, security being the operative word," I added glibly.

"I know, I know, and I've learned my lesson," Steph replied sheepishly.

"Okay. I just worry, that's all. So, I guess with all the abduction excitement you didn't get to that picnic with Krista and Ranger?"

"Actually, Krista had her heart set on the picnic so Ranger set up an impromptu picnic on the RangeMan roof complete with one of those portable bonfire things, s'mores and watching the sunset. It was even more fun than I'd hoped it would be!" Steph gushed.

"Damn, that man is smooth and surprisingly romantic for someone so gruff. So I take it you said yes to going on a date with him?" I asked smugly. I totally knew there was no way she'd turn him down, especially after hearing how patient and attentive he'd been with Krista during the few times they'd interacted.

"Yeah, I said yes. We're going out this Friday."

"This Friday as in tomorrow night? Man, he sure doesn't waste any time!" I chortled.

"Yeah, I think he just didn't want to give me time to change my mind," Steph explained.

"Well that works out perfectly. I'll be in Trenton by like 4-ish and so I can stay with Krista while you two crazy kids have fun."

"So you're still planning on coming up this weekend?" Steph asked.

"Hells yeah! I wouldn't give up my opportunity to see all the hunky men you work with at the beach during this year's RangeMan outing!"

"Trust me, you won't be disappointed!" Steph enthused just as my cab stopped in front of the crisp courthouse steps.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

I was just finishing going over some paperwork with a beer when my phone rang. After seeing Julie's name lighting up the display I decided to answer it. Despite us getting closer over the past year since the Scrog incident, it was still rare for her to initiate contact and I didn't want to discourage her.

"Hi Julie, how's your first week of school going?" I asked, putting aside my paperwork and leaning back into my plush, ergonomic office chair.

"Hi Ranger, school's okay so far although I've kinda got a bunch of homework for the first week. I was actually just calling to see how you're picnic with Steph and Krista went yesterday," Julie replied.

"Well we had to postpone it to dinner time, but it was really fun," I answered, purposefully leaving out the details on my pending date with Steph.

"And?" Julie asked expectantly, her voice laced with anticipation and excitement.

"And what?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"You _know_ what, Ranger! What did Steph say when you asked her out on a date?" Julie demanded.

"I'm actually not sure how I feel about discussing my dating life with my daughter," I replied, a smile ghosting over my features.

"Ranger, come on! You _have_ to tell me! Besides, I was the one who gave you advice on talking to and playing with Krista. You owe me!"

"Alright mija, Steph said yes. We're going out tomorrow night," I finally relented.

"OH MY GOSH! THIS IS SOOO EXCITING!" Julie shrieked at a decibel only dogs were equipped to hear.

Julie spent the next half hour explaining the importance of bringing flowers on a date and where she thought I should take Steph for our first official date. Luckily she had to stop for a breath every now and then and I was able to sneak in a few questions about her school, friends and upcoming soccer game.

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Lula POV

I followed the stick figure hostess through Lucia's, a new Mexican restaurant with live music and a dance floor, as she led me to our table. I nodded my thanks to her and plopped my sequin-covered self down in the seat next to Connie leaving the space next to Mary Lou for Steph and Krista.

"So, do you have the scoop on Steph being abducted by some Capello yesterday?" I asked Mary Lou.

"Yeah, let me fill you in before Steph and gets here. I don't think she'd appreciate having to explain the word abducted to Krista," Mary Lou said before explaining how Steph was carjacked and eventually managed to get the drop on Franco Capello.

"Wow, looks like all those RangeMan self-defense classes have definitely paid off!" Connie exclaimed.

"Mhmm, I knew white girl had it in her to save herself. She don't need a man to be all knight in shining armor, not that it's not nice every now and again, especially when that knight looks like Ranger!" I added earning dreamy sighs and nods of agreement from Connie and Mary Lou.

Connie and I had just finished sharing some crazy bonds office stories with Mary Lou when Steph and Krista rushed up to us and took their seats. "Sorry we're late guys."

"No problem, we already ordered drinks and appetizers," Mary Lou said, gesturing to the large margarita in front of each of us.

"Oh thanks! This is just what I needed!" Steph gushed, taking a huge, brain-freeze inducing sip.

"Da-darn girl, pace yourself. It's not going anywhere!" I chortled.

"So, what going on?" Steph asked.

"Well we were just talking about your eventful day yesterday, but what we really want to know about is what happened on your picnic with Ranger?" Mary Lou asked.

"We had a picnic, it was no big deal," Steph said, trying to downplay what had to be an eventful picnic given the smile she couldn't hide.

"There has to be more to it than that, especially judging by that smile!" Connie added.

"Yeah girl, we _need_ details! Krista, how was your picnic yesterday with Mr. Ranger?" I asked, figuring Krista would be more likely to share pertinent details.

"It was sooo much fun Aunt Lula. Since it was dinner time Mr. Ranger set up lights and a bonfire on the roof of Mommy's work and we had lots of yummy food and we maded s'mores and played eye-spy. And Mommy and Mr. Ranger watched the sunset but I was feeling sleepy so I didn't get to see it," Krista explained before diverting her focus back to the coloring placemat the hostess had given her.

"Wow, that sounds like some picnic!" I replied, grinning smugly.

"Yeah, it was pretty great," Steph agreed with a sigh and dreamy look.

"So?" Connie asked.

"So what?" Steph answered.

"So, did he ask you out?" Mary Lou clarified excitedly.

"Well…"

"White girl, don't make me ask Krista for the scoop again!" I threatened.

"Yes, he did. And I said yes. We're going out tomorrow night!" Steph shared excitedly.

"Oh girl, this is like some modern day fairy tale kind of shi-stuff!" I exclaimed. "So, what are you gonna wear? You need something that will totally blow his mind!"


	29. Chapter 29

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story so far and especially to those of you who've reviewed! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out.

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Lula POV

"I don't know Steph, I still like the silvery blue dress better," Mary Lou said as she and I looked over the latest dress selection Steph was modeling for us. She was currently in a coral one-shoulder dress with a fitted bodice, gold detailing and a gauzy, flirty skirt.

"I'm with Mary Lou. Besides, this dress won't match with the killer heels we saw on our way in!" I added.

"Lula, I can't pick a dress based on a pair of shoes! That's crazy. Right?"

"Girl, please. Shoes are the most important part! Of course you can select your wardrobe around a pair of shoes, especially these shoes!" I corrected her, brandishing my phone with a photo of her trying on the shoes in question. They were silver stilettoes sandals with triple thin straps covered in rhinestones at the toe and at the ankle and the stiletto heel was covered in rhinestones and silver pyramid grommets.

"I'm with Lula, these shoes are like crazy sexy. Ranger's gonna flip when he sees them," Mary Lou added.

"Maybe I should save those shoes for the third date or something. I wouldn't want Ranger to get carried away on our first date."

"What!" I asked, shocked at Steph's implication. "Why wouldn't you want Batman to get carried away girl? It's not like you haven't done the nasty before, the hell are are you holding out for?" I demanded.

"Well, it's our first _real_ date, and I don't know, I guess I just want things with our relationship to be real before we take that step," Steph answered as she headed back into the dressing room to change back into her stovepipe gray slacks and lilac, sleeveless, peter pan collared blouse.

"Wow, you're serious about not just jumping right into bed with Ranger, huh?" Mary Lou asked after she and I shared an incredulous look. I guess neither one of us really understood Steph's decision to take things slowly with Batman.

"Yeah," Steph admitted through the slatted dressing room door, "I just want to make sure everything's real and that our relationship is built on a firm foundation before I get lost in a haze of doomsday orgasms."

"Girl, good luck with saying no to Batman!" I exclaimed as Steph exited the dressing room with the silvery blue dress Mary Lou and I had chosen draped over her arm. "Now let's get those sexy heels before you have to pick up Krista!"

"Alright, let's go. Hey Lula, do you wanna come to our Friday picnic with Mare, our kids and some of Krista's classmates after we're done here?" Steph asked.

"I can't, I took my lunch break off helping you find something sexy to wow Batman and I have to get back to work. But, I can't wait to hear all the dirty details tomorrow at the RangeMan outing! Speaking of which, how could you not tell _me_ where the outing is taking place?"

"It's a secret! And I don't trust you not to tell Tank! Just remember to pack a swim suit and some bar appropriate clothing along with a pair of regular clothes."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess it's for the best, Tank's got a few ways of making me talk!" I shot back at her with a wink as the three of us made our way back towards the shoe section of Macy's.

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SP POV

I had just finished up my work for the day when the door buzzer announced Beck's arrival.

"Yay! Aunt Becks is here! Aunt Becks is here!" Krista exclaimed excitedly, racing me to the door.

After confirming that it was indeed Becks at the front door, I buzzed her in. A few minutes later she knocked on the apartment door.

"Hey Becks!" I greeted her with a quick hug as she rolled her carry-on sized suitcase into the apartment.

"Hey guys!" Becks said, bending down to give Krista a big bear hug. "How's everything been going?"

"Great! Glad you're here!" I responded.

"We've been having sooo much fun Aunt Becks," Krista answered, tugging Becks into the living room, "I've been going to ballet and we had a picnic on the roof with Mr. Ranger and I played in the park today with my friends!"

"Wow, you've been a very busy bee!" Becks said, tickling Krista.

"Yup!" Krista shrieked amid bouts of laughter.

"So, do you wanna play a game?" I asked Krista, handing Becks a bottle of water.

"Yeah! Let's play candy land," Krista announced, heading off to find the board game.

"So, I haven't had a chance to talk to Krista about this whole date thing yet. I mean, she knows that Ranger asked me out and I said yes but her knowing about it theoretically and it actually happening are two totally different things," I mentioned to Becks while Krista was off searching for the game.

"Well, you'd better get on that Steph. Or you're going to end up having that conversation in front of Ranger!"

"I know, I just… I guess I'm nervous. What if she feels displaced or something?"

"I'm pretty sure she knows that she's the most important person in your life. And if she's feeling left out or something, just remind her of that fact," Becks assured me.

"Thanks Becks, you're the best!"

"Damn straight. Oh and I'll accept payment for being the best, your words, not mine, in the form of a date with one of your Merry Men. Preferably Lester because he is just sooo much handsome!" Becks responded with a saucy wink just as Krista came back into the living room with Candy Land clutched in her arms.

"So munchkin, what color do you want to be?" I asked as the three of us settled onto the floor around the coffee table.

"Hmmm, I pick… red!" Krista answered as we set up the game. A few rounds into the game, I decided to broach the date topic.

"Krista, do you remember when we had that picnic with Mr. Ranger on the roof and he asked me out on a date?"

"Mhmm," Krista answered absentmindedly. Clearly her upcoming roll was far more interesting than the topic of me dating Ranger.

"Well, remember we talked about how dating was when two people decide to spend time together to get to know each other better? Well, Mr. Ranger and I will be going on a date tonight," I explained carefully.

"But what about me?" Krista asked with rapt attention.

"Well, you and Aunt Becks are going to hang out with Aunt Mare's family at the Discovery Zone while I'm spending time with Ranger."

"But why can't I go with you? I want to go on the date too!" Krista argued.

"Well munchkin, dating is only for adults. And it'll only be for a few hours, you won't even miss me," I assured her, scooping her into my lap and giving her a big hug.

"Besides, we're going to have tons of fun while Mommy's on her date with Mr. Ranger!" Becks added.

"Okay?" I asked, hoping Krista would amenable to tonight's plan.

"Okay," Krista huffed.

"Are you sure munchkin?"

"You're gonna come back after a few hours, right?" Krista asked in a small, vulnerable voice.

"Absolutely."

"Okay then," Krista said, crawling out of my lap and back to her side of the board after giving me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

After finishing a lively game of Candy Land, I decided to leave Becks and Krista to Wii Mario Kart in order to get dressed for my highly anticipated date. After showering, shaving, exfoliating and moisturizing, I was ready to get started on my hair and makeup. I put in some of Mr. Alexander's magical hair serum that left my hair in soft curls which I swept to my left side using bobby pins with rhinestones accents. I added silver and rhinestone encrusted chandelier drop earrings and a matching bracelet which would go perfectly with my shoes and mirrored clutch. I went with a natural makeup look with smoky eyes and three coats of mascara to help settle my nerves.

I was just about to slip on my dress when I heard Becks giving me a time check,"Steph, Ranger's gonna be here in fifteen minutes!"

"Thanks for the heads up! I'm almost ready," I answered, zipping my dress up. The dress was light, silvery blue with a sweetheart neckline and layered tulle skirt that ended at mid-thigh. I had just finished giving myself a quick once over when Becks and Krista came barging into my bathroom.

"Wow, Mommy. You look like a princess!" Krista gushed as I leaned over to give her a quick hug.

"Thanks munchkin, that's exactly the look I was going for!"

"Yeah Steph, Lula and Mare did well with the dress. And the shoes are to die for!" Becks added with a knowing smile.

"Don't give me that smile, there will be none of _that_. It's a first date!" I exclaimed, as the three of us headed into the living room. "So Krista, did you beat Aunt Becks at Mario Kart?"

"Yup!" Krista announced proudly before filing me in on all the fun they had while I was busy primping.

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RM POV

Okay, you can do this, I thought to myself as I got ready to knock on the door of the first proper date I've had in over a decade. If any of my men could see me know they would definitely demand that I hand in my badass card. I took one last deep, calming breath before knocking on the door marked 714.

A few seconds later the door opened and I found myself needing to take another calming breath as I took in the vision before me. Steph was wearing a light blue dress that brought out her eyes, sinful shoes and a smile that could light up the city. "Hi Ranger," she greeted me breathily.

"Hi Babe, you look beautiful," I responded after clearing my throat. I leaned in to kiss her cheek just as Krista and one of her friends came up behind her.

"Ranger, this is my friend Becks. Becks this is Ranger," she said by way of introductions as we shook hands. "And of course you remember Krista," Steph said, her arms resting on Krista's shoulders as they stepped aside to allow me entrance into their apartment.

"Hi Krista," I said, kneeling down in my black on black Armani suit, "I brought these for you," I said, handing her a bouquet of purple gerber daisies and lavender.

"Wow, thank you Mr. Ranger, they're my favorite color," Krista said, in awe as she held the flowers up to her cute button nose and inhaled deeply. "And they smell pretty too!" she exclaimed, giving me a quick hug that I returned after a beat of hesitation.

"Why don't we pick out a vase for your flowers," Becks said, leading Krista to the kitchen.

"And these are for you Babe," I said, handing Steph a bouquet of blush and white calla lilies held together with a twine bow.

"Thanks Batman, they're gorgeous," Steph gushed, holding out her hand for me to take as she walked back towards their sunny kitchen while breathing in the flowers. She handed the flowers to her friend Becks and after a quick good bye we were headed out on our first date, finally.

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SP POV

I couldn't stop a face-splitting smile from gracing my features as Ranger pulled away from my apartment building, his right hand tangled with my left and resting between us.

"You gonna share what that smile's for, Babe?" Ranger asked with a smirk as he raised our hands to his face to gently kiss the back of my hand.

"It, well… I guess this whole date thing is feeling a little surreal. I'm having a hard time realizing it's all real. I'm on a date with Batman!" I shared.

"Trust me Babe, it's real," he chortled, giving the back of my hand another kiss before letting it rest, fingers entwined with his on his thigh.

"Nice touch with the flowers by the way, very smooth," I commented as he aimed the Turbo towards Newark.

"Thanks Babe. I figured it would never be too soon to start winning over Krista. And I figured purple was a safe bet judging by her room when I carried her up after the benefit," Ranger replied with a self-satisfied smirk firmly in place.

"So, where are we headed for this highly anticipated date?"

"It's a surprise," he answered before slipping into his driving zone. I passed the rest of our drive looking out the window and trying to work the gleeful grin off my face.

Before I knew it Ranger had pulled up to a valet podium in front of packed restaurant boasting an exuberant ambiance. I sat for a moment to take in the sight before me from the lit up sign that read Havana to the roof that seemed to be some sort of bar with torches and string lights to the live music that was definitely setting the ambiance. I was interrupted from my reverie by Ranger opening the passenger door and offering me his hand to help me out of the car.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" I whispered to Ranger as we headed to the hostess who was dressed head to toe in black save for her fire-engine truck hued lipstick.

"Manoso, party of two," Ranger announced to the hostess over the din.

"Right this way," she said before grabbing two menus and heading into the restaurant. We filed past a small bar area and the main seating area filled with tables covered in colorful linens to a staircase off to the side. We followed the hostess up the stairs where there was another bar, a live band, several smaller tables and a dance floor with a few brave couples getting their salsa on. The hostess headed towards the side of the roof where a few secluded, circular booths were set up on a raised platform and the music was a little less prominent. "Here's your table Mr. Manoso, a waiter will be by shortly," the hostess explained as we slid into our seats which provided an unobstructed view of the entire rooftop and the surrounding city.

"Wow, Ranger, this is incredible," I gushed, taking in the view.

"Glad you like it Babe. I've actually wanted to bring you here for a while now," Ranger replied.

"Really? Why haven't we been before?" I asked as I situated my napkin in my lap.

"Well, I guess I shied away from anything that seemed too relationship-like. Although now that we've decided to really give us a chance, I'm not sure what I was afraid of," Ranger replied, giving me a rare, unguarded look.

"Wow, Ranger afraid. I totally get it though. I've built up being with you for real so much in my mind that it kinda sets the bar pretty high and I'm a little worried I'll disappoint you."

"Babe, you never disappoint. We just need to take this one day at a time and see where we end up," Ranger reassured me just as our waiter walked up to us.

"Good evening, my name's Paul and I'll be your waiter tonight. Can I get you started with something to drink?"

"Hi Paul, what's good here?" I asked after realizing the beverage portion of the menu took up an entire page.

"Well, we have really amazing mojitos and of course our rum beverages are also excellent."

"Sounds good, I'll have a mojito," I said, turning to Ranger to see what he would opt for.

"I'll have one too, and two glasses of water as well."

"Great and would you guys like anything to start?"

"Actually, we need a little more time to look over the menu," Ranger announced.

With a nod, Paul headed over to the bar to bring us our beverages.

"So, what's good here?" I asked. "And keep in mind I've been on a self-imposed meat hiatus, so-"

"Actually, that's what I wanted to ask you about before we ordered. How is that going?" Ranger interjected.

"Okay so far, I guess. But every now and then I get a major jonesing for a meatball sub from Pino's or that amazing chicken and rice dish that Ella makes. I've been reading up on cooking as a vegetarian and I'm actually kinda worried that Krista and I may not be getting enough vitamins and proteins given my culinary limitations," I replied. I had been rethinking agreeing with Krista for us to go vegetarian lately, I just hadn't decided on a way to broach the subject with Krista yet.

"Well, they can make us a tasting menu so we get to try a little of everything, but we need to decide if it needs to be vegetarian or not," Ranger explained, stretching his right arm out to rest on the back of the booth behind me and twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.

"Not, definitely not. Seriously, I've started dreaming about meat. Not that kind!" I added, shooting him an admonishing look when I noticed the mischievous glint in his eye. "But are you sure they'll just do a tasting menu, that's a lot of work and as charming as you are, I'm thinking a lot of your… appeal is going to be lost on Paul."

"They'll do it for me because I'm a silent partner in the restaurant," Ranger explained nonchalantly.

"You're what? How? Almost _none_ of this food is temple appropriate," I exclaimed.

"Well, I know the owners and provided the startup money" he explained. "And well, today is definitely _not_ a temple day," he added in a husky voice as he leaned in towards me to place a kiss on my bare shoulder.

"Ahem, excuse me sir. Here are your drinks," Paul interjected, placing our mojitos and waters on the table. "So, have you decided on something to start with?"

"Yes, we'll have a tasting menu for two," Ranger answered still holding me captive with his gaze.

"Wonderful, I'll bring the first portion of your meal out shortly," Paul explained before heading to check on another table.

"Hey," Ranger said, hooking his arm around my neck and pulling me towards him to lay a path of kisses from my shoulder to my neck. Luckily I'd managed to break out of my lust filled haze long enough to realize where we were and why we were there.

"R-Ranger, stop, we're in p-public." I stuttered, halting Ranger's tantalizing progress up the side of my neck. "And besides, since this whole relationship thing is kinda new for us, I was hoping we'd take things slow."

"Babe," Ranger groaned, leaning his forehead against my shoulder and exhaling breathily. "Sorry Babe," Ranger said, sitting back up and leaving a little space between us with his arm firmly planted on the booth back behind me, "I got a little carried away there. But you're right, we're both in this and we owe it to ourselves to go slow and not rush things."

"Okay, so, first date conversation. Wow it's been a while," I said with a laugh as Ranger shot me an intrigued look. "So, since the point of the date is get to know each other, let's start with you. Hmmm… favorite movie of all time?" I asked.

"Indiana Jones, except for the one they made recently, which was crap. But Babe, I thought the purpose of dating was to get into the girl's pants?" he asked with mock seriousness earning a halfhearted shove to the chest.

We spent the next hour eating food that was akin to a religious experience and getting to know each other from our favorite desserts (pineapple upside down cake for me and flan for Ranger) to what we wanted to be as kids when we grew up (wonder woman for me and surprisingly enough archeologist adventure seeker for Ranger) to our greatest fears (looking back at my life and being full of regret and spiders for me and having someone from his past threaten the life he's built for himself for Ranger). It was the perfect first date, the two of us, talking, laughing and eating under the moonlight with live music and the occasional mojito refill.

"So, can I get you two something for dessert?" Paul asked after he cleared away the last of our entrees.

I turned to Ranger with an expectant look to find him looking at me in disbelief. "Babe, how can you possibly have room for dessert?"

"Come on Ranger, we should really make the most of the fact that it isn't a temple day!" I said excitedly before turning to face Paul. "So Paul, what do you recommend?"

"Well, I'd recommend one of our flans. We have traditional, coconut, caramel, guava and chocolate flavored flan." Paul answered, amused at our antics.

"Hmmm, what do you think Ranger?"

"Seriously Babe?" Ranger asked to which I simply nodded exuberantly. "Fine, we'll share a caramel flan and could you also bring us each some cafe cubano?"

"I'll have that out for you shortly," Paul replied before heading away.

"So Babe, do you want to dance a little before Paul brings us our dessert?" Ranger asked.

"Definitely, we should dance before we eat dessert and fully succumb to our food comas," I answered, standing to follow Ranger out to the dance floor as took my hand, shook his head and mumbled something about my metabolism.

"So Babe, you know how to salsa?" Ranger asked, spinning me into him, his hands firmly anchored at my waist.

"Mhmm, dance classes are required of all good Burg girls. It was actually the only part of the Burg girl mold that was any fun."

"Nice," Ranger whispered, spinning me around with a smile that showed he was impressed I could keep up. We spent the next twenty minutes flirting on the dance floor just shy of being dirty dancing worthy when Ranger noticed that Paul had delivered our dessert. "Dessert," he mentioned, nodding towards our booth as he guided me off the dance floor and back towards our table.

"So, this is your favorite dessert?" I asked Ranger, eyeing the plate heavily drizzled in caramel sauce.

"Trust me Babe, it's amazing," he said, taking a bite and handing me a spoon. Not able to handle the suspense any longer, I took a small bite and felt an explosion of rich, caramel flavor swirling around in my mouth.

"Oh my god, Ranger! This is amazing! How could I not have tried this before?" I exclaimed.

"Well thank you! I heard Carlos was having dessert and I just had to see it for myself!" a petit woman with sparkling brown eyes, a trendy bob hairstyle, and sporting a chef's coat announced jokingly as she walked up to our booth.

"Camilla! It's good to see you," Ranger replied. "Camilla this is my friend, Stephanie, Babe, this is my sister Camilla and the chef at Havana."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," I said as I stuck my hand out to shake hers. I could see the family resemblance now in their smiles, skin tone and cheek bones. "Your food is amazing. Thank you so much for putting together a tasting menu for us!" I gushed.

"Anytime, I'm just glad Carlos had an excuse to stop b- wait a minute, you're _that_ Stephanie?! From the stories that Tank, Lester and Bobby have been telling us for years?" Camilla asked with awe and barely contained excitement.

"What stories? I swear the funeral home was _not_ my fault!" I exclaimed, looking to Ranger for an explanation regarding these stories his sister and likely his entire family had been regaled with.

"Oh my gosh, you _are_ that Stephanie. It is sooo nice to finally meet you. We've been after Carlos to bring you by for dinner for forever and I can't believe I'm the first to actually meet you!" Camilla gushed animatedly.

"And now you know why I was reticent to bring you here before," Ranger said, shaking his head at the two of us.

"And why did you finally decide to bring her here, hermano?" Camilla asked curiously, like she was about to get the inside scoop on some state secret.

"Oh, well, it's…" I mumbled in an ill-fated attempt to buy Ranger some time before having to answer.

"Well, if you _must_ know, Steph and I are actually on our first date," Ranger finally explained, shooting me a smile and a slightly exasperated look.

"Oh how exci-wait what? For years the guys have been telling us stories about her and you're only _now_ getting around to taking her on a first date? What is wrong with you? Men!" Camilla huffed disgustedly, shifting her attention back to me. "Well, sorry my baby brother's such an idiot sometimes. We'd been telling him to make a move for years and I guess somewhere along the way I'd assumed he'd taken my awesome advice."

"Well, we've both been idiots on the relationship front, but this is a big change for us and hopefully the start of something really special," I explained, shooting Ranger a quick smile.

"Man, Lester was right, you two are perfect together. Well, I have to get back to the kitchen, but you're welcome anytime and Carlos, I'll be telling Mama about your _first_ date and I'm sure she'll be looking forward to having the two of you over for dinner sometime soon!" Camilla announced with a smirk before heading back down to the kitchen.

"Wow, so that happened," I observed, taking a sip of my mojito.

"Yeah, and you thought Plum family dinners were a circus. Just wait until we're summoned by my mother and you have to meet all of my siblings and their families all at once."

"If I can handle Grandma Mazur, I'm sure I can handle the Manoso clan!" I shot back with a smile.

"Well, on the upside, Camilla will let everyone know about us, so that's one less thing I have to do," Ranger noted thoughtfully, determined to find some silver lining. "So Babe, one more dance before we head home?" Ranger asked, holding his hand out to me with a 200 watt smile lighting up his handsome face.

"Absolutely!"


	30. Chapter 30

AN: All familiar characters/etc. belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any profit from this.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with the story so far and especially to those of you who've reviewed!

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SP POV

"Come on ladies! We're gonna be late and we still have to pick up Lula!" I announced tapping my flip flop covered foot impatiently and ever hopeful that Becks and Krista would hurry up with gathering their bags. I allowed myself to feel a modicum of relief when Krista exited her room with her pink, rolling suitcase and the floppy hat I demanded she bring.

"I'm ready Mommy!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Hear that Becks? Krista and I are all ready to go!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh!" Becks grumbled, finally heading into the living room dressed similarly to me in jean shorts and a tanktop. She and I had packed our things together so I already had her changes of clothing and toiletries. "Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Becks said excitedly as the three of us finally headed out of the apartment.

After quick stop to pick up Lula who was naturally also running a bit behind, we were headed to RangeMan for the annual outing.

"So Steph, are you finally gonna tell us where this outing is taking place?" Becks asked me pointedly.

"Nope, it's a surprise! Besides, I promise you'll love it!"

"That is just cruel! I'll have you know the secrecy is the reason my bag is bursting. All of this," Lula huffed motioning to her red and orange spandex covered body, "doesn't just happen on accident, you know. Now I've got hair supplies and wardrobe options for any scenario crammed into my tiny bag!" Lula finished, referring to her bag that was anything but tiny.

"I promise it'll be worth it Lula. Besides, you'll be with us and Tank and the guys and we'll be having so much fun you won't even remember all the annoying packing you had to do!" I countered cheekily as I pulled into my spot in the underground RangeMan parking garage. "Okay," I said, turning around to face Becks, Lula and Krista, "I have to check on a few things, but you guys can head out to the front of the building where the chartered bus is. Everyone should be getting seated, so find us some good seats!"

The four of us piled out of the car with our bags and after pointing them in the direction of the bus I went in search of Ranger to double check that everything with the skeleton crew of contract workers he and Tank had called in to cover shifts until Sunday afternoon had worked out okay. After some searching, I found Ranger wearing black workout shorts and a black painted on tshirt headed to the bus with his black duffle bag in tow.

"Hey Ranger!" I called out as I jogged a bit to catch up to him.

"Babe!" Ranger replied as he lifted me off my feet slightly and planted a quick kiss on my lips.

"So, did you and Tank get everything squared away with the contract workers?" I asked as we headed to the bus.

"Yeah, we made sure they were up on all of our SOPs and had our emergency numbers incase something happens that they aren't equipped to handle," Ranger explained while tossing his duffel into the luggage area under the seats of the sleek, black chartered bus. "You know, last year we just drove ourselves," Ranger said teasingly.

"I know, but this way everything stays a surprise. And no one has to worry about driving!" I replied as we headed towards the bus doors. The Merry Men were either on the bus our getting ready to board and several of them had even brought their girlfriends and couple came with their families. It was shaping up to be a very fun day. I waved at Becks and Krista through the windows when I spotted them.

Ranger and I were just about to climb the stairs to get onto the bus when a champagne colored sedan screeched to a stop in front of the bus, blocking its way. I barely had time to turn around when my mother's shrill voice rang out, effectively squashing the excited banter that had filled the air only moments before.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, how could you not return any one of my phone calls leaving me no choice but to track you down at your _job_!" she shouted derisively as she and V's mother stalked up to me, drawing everyone's attention. "Margaret and I have been trying to talk to you for days and we demand to be heard!"

"Mother, as I'm sure you've noticed, I'm busy at the moment and for the next two days. I'll make it a point to return your phone calls on Monday," I replied as evenly as I could and turned to get on the bus.

"Excuse me? We had to drag ourselves down here, the least you could do is listen!" Margaret added as my mother grabbed a hold of my wrist in an effort to keep me from getting on the bus and away from their particular brand of crazy.

I quickly freed my wrist using one of the tricks Lester taught me early on in my training and squared off to face the two harpies. "You have five minutes," I explained in a clipped tone as I stepped away from the bus and moved towards their car hoping to avoid a scene or sharing with the Merry Men and their guests what my and V's mothers had gotten so very worked up about. Thankfully Ranger decided to stick with me so someone had my back in the very likely event that things got ugly.

"Well, when I heard about your recent _kidnapping_ from your mother I was very concerned for my granddaughter's safety, especially when Helen informed me that such goings on were alarmingly common in your life," Margaret explained haughtily. "Naturally, we decided that we needed to have another pointed conversation with you regarding your _guardianship_ and what is in the best interests of the child."

"And what exactly did you come down here to say?" I snapped, hoping they would hurry up and air their grievances without causing much more of a scene or taking too much more time.

"It's clear from the life that you live that you are not fit to serve as the guardian for my granddaughter, what with you being kidnapped and threatened and involved in explosions on a weekly basis," Margaret explained with venom lacing her words.

"I haven't had a car explode in, never mind. It's none of your business. We've already had a conversation about me giving up my guardianship and I have made my stance painfully clear. Krista and I are a family and there is no way I am giving her up." I explained in a calm yet insistent tone.

"You can't possibly be serious Stephanie! You are unfit and you need to be free of this burden if you ever want to have a hope of finally getting married and living up to Burg expectations!" my mother added hotly.

"I am very serious, mother. And if you two continue to harass me in this manner, I will be forced to file for restraining orders that protect both me and my daughter," I shot back, glaring at the two of them. My threat caught them unawares and they both stared at me, mouths agape, unsure of what to do next.

"Ladies," Ranger interjected when it was clear neither my mother nor Margaret were going to say anything more, "if you feel that you have a legitimate concern regarding Krista's safety and wellbeing I suggest you bring it up with Child Protective Services. Of course we've already informed Steph's case worker and she is less than impressed with the shenanigans Margaret here has pulled, so I'm not sure you're baseless concerns will be given the weight that you deem appropriate, but, well, that's really all there is for you to do. Now, kindly leave before I have some of my men help you to do so."

After Ranger leveled the two of them with his most intimidating glare, the two of them scurried back into their car and motored off.

"Thanks for the backup," I whispered to Ranger, turning into him to give him a quick kiss that he proceeded to hijack and elongate.

"Ugh come on Beautiful! You're not gonna be one of _those_ couples, are you?" Lester yelled at us from the doorway to the bus.

"Sorry, sorry," I called out to Lester and the rest of the Merry Men after shooting Ranger a quick admonishing look to which he responded by simply shrugging his shoulders. "Alright RangeMan, ready to get this party started?!" I called out enthusiastically as Ranger and I climbed onto the bus.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

I looked around at my men who were clearly enjoying the beach, completely floored by the preparations Steph had made. She'd rented three adjacent beach houses for everyone to stay in for the night (one for families, one for couples and one for the rest of the single guys) and caterers that made sure everyone had a drink at all times and were also ready to man the barbeque grills for lunch and dinner and to set up an impressive spread for our late brunch tomorrow before we headed back to Trenton.

Everywhere I turned my men and their guests were all getting to know each other and reinforcing the concept of brotherhood Tank, Lester, Bobby and I built RangeMan on at a previously unfathomable level. Our previous RangeMan Trenton outings were just us guys hanging out usually at a cabin or something but this was much better than anything we'd done before or anything that I could've imagined. Steph really outdid herself.

I fished out a couple of water bottles from one of the coolers that was still surprisingly full of beer and headed over to the cluster of umbrellas and riot of color where Steph, Krista, Tank, Lula, Becks, Lester, Bobby and Jasmine were seated and munching on some chips, salsa and fresh guacamole. "Hey guys," I said, taking a seat next to Steph and handing her one of the bottles of water.

"Mr. Ranger, did they tell you? I'm gonna build a giant sandcastle with my new friends!" Krista announced excitedly, gathering up a neon orange colored bucket and matching shovel.

"Really? That sounds pretty exciting," I replied.

"Mhmm, you guys can come see it when we're done!" she replied, scurrying a little way down the beach in her purple and pink frilly swimsuit to where Erik and Vince's kids had already started digging a moat.

"Babe, you've done an amazing job," I complemented, hooking my arm around her neck and tugging her to lean against me. She sent me a beaming smile in response that caused her eyes to deepen and match her bikini.

"Mhmm white girl. This was definitely worth keeping it a surprise!" Lula agreed from her seat next to Tank, the both of them sporting red swimwear.

"So you think everyone's having fun? Now that the day's finally here I'm kinda nervous about some of the plans and I keep worrying we're gonna run out of food or beer or something," Steph replied.

"This is amazing, and I'm glad it's not just restricted to RangeMan employees," Bobby answered, dropping a quick kiss on Jasmine's temple.

"Yeah Beautiful, this is way better than last year's outing!" Lester agreed enthusiastically.

"Hey, I planned last year's outing!" Tank barked with a mock glare. "So, you two finally went on your first date, huh?" Tank inquired jokingly.

"Yeah, it was pretty perfect," Steph replied with a self-satisfied sigh.

"Wait, so you two are dating now?" Jasmine asked, completely confused by the change in our relationship status.

"Well, it's more like the boss man finally got his shit together and asked Bomber out and she was nice enough to give the poor guy a chance," Bobby explained, throwing me a quick smirk.

"So you're dating your boss?" Jasmine asked pointing between Steph and myself, trying to clarify the situation.

"Yeah, normally I have a strict don't boff the bossman policy, but well, he's just so damn hot," Steph said, reducing herself, Becks, Lula and Jasmine to be to giggles.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up ladies!" I exclaimed, scooping Steph into my lap and tickling her mercilessly.

"Uncle, uncle!" Steph shrieked amid uncontrollable laughter.

"So Beautiful, you finally gonna show us that tattoo Krista mentioned when we were helping you move in?" Lester asked, his patented lopsided grin firmly in place.

"You've never noticed her tat?" I asked incredulously since it was often times clearly visible on the inside of her heel given her choice of footwear. "Santos, you need to be more aware of your surroundings."

"Well, Ranger, we all haven't had the same… opportunities to catalogue Beautiful here's body. So, where is it?"

"You're relentless Lester. It's here," she said, pointing to the delicate wonder woman insignia on her foot, "same as Becks," she added, pointing out the Chinese symbol Becks had inked in the same spot.

"Man, you're right, I definitely should've clocked that by now," Lester said with a shake of his head as he appreciated their ink.

"Oh my gosh, that reminds me, how did the new one come out?" Becks asked Steph excitedly.

"Oh, really well, I'll, uh, show you later," Steph hurriedly replied.

"Wait, white girl, you got another one?" Lula asked, finally deducing what Becks was asking about despite a glare from Steph to avoid the topic. "What are you collecting them or something?"

"You know what, I think it's time for us to take a little dip," Steph announced, standing up.

"Mhmm," Jasmine agreed.

"Babe," I called out, grabbing a hold of her hand and taking a quick moment to appreciate how Steph filled out her cerulean blue bikini that she had paired with a matching sheer sarong. "What new ink?" I asked huskily, hoping the rest of our group wasn't paying attention.

"I'll show you later Ranger. Besides, we're taking things slow, remember" she said cheekily before tossing me a wink and heading towards to shoreline with Becks, Lula and Jasmine.

"Cuz, you are in sooo much trouble with her," Lester chortled, taking a swig of his beer.

"Fuck," I groused, running my hand over my face before joining the guys in watching our women head into the water.

"So, beach?" Tank asked.

"Definitely," I replied as the four of us ran towards the water.

:::::::::::::::

RM POV

"And now, ladies and Merry Men, the moment you've all been waiting for. Or well, I guess you didn't know it would be coming so you couldn't have been waiting for it. But if you knew, you'd totally be waiting for it-" Steph announced to everyone once we'd all finished up our delicious barbeque dinner.

"Babe," I interjected exasperatedly.

"Right, sorry. Anyways, welcome to the first every annual RangeMan Trenton awards ceremony!" Steph exclaimed excitedly as the sun set behind her creating a breathtaking backdrop of yellow, pink and blue swirling together. "This year's award for the Most Tragic Injury goes to Zip for crashing into Cal on his way up the stairs and falling down resulting in a broken leg. Congratulations Zip!" Steph said, motioning for Zip to join her at the front of the group as she fished a trophy of some sort out of a small duffle bag.

Zip made his way up to Steph amid applause and words of encouragement and received his trophy which was all black with a slate plate on the base that named his award, the year and RangerMan Trenton. Above the base, the trophy had a small statue of a buff man in the typical bodybuilder flexing pose complete with rippling muscles.

"Well, I just want to thank Cal for running into me that day," Zip said jokingly after accepting his trophy.

"Next, we have the award for the Messiest Takedown" Steph began as Zip made his way back to his seat, "which goes to Woody and Ram for their memorable takedown of Tony "The Tiger" Bertucci, known mobster and apparently lasagna aficionado who proceeded to sling lasagna ingredients at Woody and Ram in an ill-fated attempt to escape."

Everyone once again resumed their applause and Woody and Ram sauntered up to Steph sporting their swim trunks and tshirts.

"Thank you. And thanks to Tony "The Tiger" for his dedication," Woody drawled after accepting his trophy.

"And a special thanks to Bombshell, whose footsteps we will hopefully continue to follow!" Ram added with a chortle before he and Woody headed back to their seats.

"Our next award goes to the person who has accrued the most hours of mat time. Give it up for Lester who has achieved this honor by his impressive use of innuendos and quips!" Steph announced as Santos sauntered up to her while waving at everyone.

He grabbed his trophy and slung an arm around Steph's neck before addressing the crowd, "Well, I couldn't have done it without Ranger, who never failed to call me to the mats for poking a little fun and maybe pointing out things that everyone else was too chicken to say!" He finished by giving a deep bow and placing a smacking kiss on Steph's cheek.

"Santos!" I barked out.

"Okay guys, the next award goes to Vince, Zero, Manny, Cal and Ella for systematically replacing Hal's belongings and clothing to convince him that he was shrinking!"

The five newest award winners made their way up to Steph amid renewed applause and some catcalling from Louis, Vince's wife and Cal's date. After they'd each received their trophies and hugged Steph Ella decided to address the group. "We'd like to thank Hal for being such a good sport! Thank you!"

After the laughter and applause died down Steph announced the next award. "Our next award goes to this year's Humanitarian Hunk who accidently volunteered to participate in Trenton's risqué Working Men's Calendar," Steph said excitedly, holding up the calendar in question opened to June which prominently (a little too prominently for my taste) displayed Junior in black RangeMan issue cargo pants and an open flak vest with several weapons strapped to his body and some artistically applied grease stains. "Give it up for Junior! Oh and ladies, I have several copies of this calendar, in case anyone's interested!"

A blushing Junior ambled up to Steph to accept his award. "I uh, I'd like to thank Tracy, my girlfriend for getting me to agree to something that I clearly didn't understand or think through," Junior said before giving Steph a hug and heading back to his seat.

"And finally, I'd like to thank the families, significant others and friends of all of us at RangeMan Trenton who put up with our weird hours, the crazy amounts of black we are required to wear and the strict dietary and workout regiment we're forced to adhere to. Thank you all for your support and love and on behalf of all of us at RangeMan, we'd like to give these trophies to the kids of RangeMan. Come on up, Topher, Shane, Sara and Krista!"

The four kids scurried up to Steph to accept their trophies.

"Wow, these are chocolate!" Shane exclaimed after investigating his award.

"Yummy!" Sara replied as the she, Topher and Shane hurried back to their seats to open their dessert trophies while Krista stayed with Steph, holding onto her hand.

"So, we're gonna set up a bonfire and s'mores supplies here in a few minutes for people to enjoy and the chartered bus will be ready to take people down to an area that has a few bars and a club in thirty minutes and will bring people back at 2:15 AM. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening and thanks for coming out!" Steph announced, ending the impromptu awards ceremony and heading back over to me.

:::::::::::::::

SP POV

"Babe, that was amazing, really. I'm so glad I put you in charge of things this year!" Ranger exclaimed as he, Krista and I got situated near the bonfire as we watched the sun finish setting in a splash of pink and blue.

"You think?" I asked, unsure as to how the whole joke award show thing would play out.

"Yeah, everyone loved it and it was the perfect end to a wonderful day."

"What do you think munchkin? Do you think people had fun?" I asked Krista who was snuggled between Ranger and I.

"Mhmm Mommy, everyone was laughing a lot and Uncle Lester was sooo excited when he won!" Krista added before focusing once again on the marshmallow she was currently toasting.

"Well, that settles it. You get to plan this thing every year. Man, I can't wait till the other locations hear how much fun we had. They're probably still doing the cabin and outdoors thing we'd been doing the past few years," Ranger said jokingly.

"Yeah, you're right, it was a pretty wonderful day," I finally agreed as I leaned into Ranger's side and gave him a quick kiss. I couldn't help but send a quick thanks out into the universe for all of the amazing things that had been happening in my life lately from Krista calling me Mommy to the start of my relationship with Ranger to the perfect beach day I'd just spent with my friends and family. I had a feeling that from here on out, things were only going to be looking up.

"So," Ranger whispered to me after checking to see that Krista was preoccupied with constructing the perfect s'more and uninterested in what we were talking about, "about that tattoo Babe?"

"Mhmm," I replied, smirking at Ranger. Yeah, things were definitely looking up.

:::::::::::::::

AN: So this is the last official chapter of Grace Under Pressure! (I'm thinking of writing an epilogue to tie up some loose ends and sorry if it feels like it sorta ended abruptly.) Thanks to all of you out there who stuck with this story. I appreciate all of your support and hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm sorry that the mystery part of the story fizzled out a bit early. Hopefully I'll be able to use what I've learned from this story to make future ones a bit more suspenseful and have a better balance between the mystery and personal growth/relationships aspects of the story.

Special thanks to my sister, Angela Mueller, Cara245, Angie, frisco21, Fanfictionstalker, melyons, shellbell78, Janarden, MnGrammaX3, trhodes9, FourReasons, Selene Aduial, gobucks1, Margaret aka whymelucylu, Lulubelle09, jules3677, lundyred, daydreamer987, Sliver of Melody, Ziandra2010, jkgk, princessandthepen, jwarden, 4everstephranger, Marcy53, darkangel62636, Vulcan Rider, rlsilcox1313, sam's-lurker-droid, emmme3, frostdance, paksiegurlie, sage0967, DebK, First Generation Scot, zicobabe, snazzieshazzie, Elkniw73, reddnrad, bookworm695, Reeka, annalynn88, Stephannie1014, Margaret, Katannc, 56 olds, WindFall Lucivar, Superfan05, Lilygreen, purple22464, Babe993, BatmanBabe-21, eisbehr, 2.M.A, Kadyn, Flameprincess, Nikki9601 and all of the guest reviewers for your kind words, insight and encouragement.


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